Kiss the Earth

Time to head back to the office ... before I mortgage the ranch. Lots of great vendors here, selling everything from plants, garden tools and furniture to one-of-a-kind artworks with a botanical theme. I did more damage to my bank account and, if you come to the show, you will, too. But that's part of the experience, no? (That sounds good. I think I'll use that line when I go home tonight.)

Here's a tiny taste of what's for sale ...

Glass and brass door knobs salvaged from old homes. Panels from the elevator lobby of the Plaza Hotel in New York City ($750). Twin dolphins from the fountains at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami ($9,500). All from Olde Good Things in Scranton.

From Dakota Prairie Designs in Yardley: some really interesting pieces that I'm going to have trouble describing. They're cast in concrete from real leaves and either hand painted or tinted. Owner Holly Shirek, at the show for the first time, has small hydrangea leaves for $12 and giant rhubarb leaves for $250. She says they can be used as accents in the garden, or as bird baths. You could make a miniature water garden or float candles in them. Put a piece of glass on top, and it's a table - or set it on a table in the house.

I could see her two-tier, chartreuse-colored lotus birdbath in my garden. Only $180. But I was too distracted to make a decision. I met up with Geoff Valdes selling the $20 CobraHead weeder, a menacing looking hand tool that's sharp on three sides and 100 percent Wisconsin-made. I've used it. It does, as Geoff says, pop out clumps of weeds and clear out those tight spaces between stepping stones or bricks.

By then I was feeling virtuous, having purchased only two catnip toys for my kitties on this second shopping foray into the show. Unfortunately, on my way out, I passed Nature's Creation, which won a blue ribbon for botanical jewelry. I was entranced by the pieces crafted from real leaves - ginkgo, cottonwood, oak, maple, evergreen - and finished with colorful patinas and paints.

What did I spend? My lips are sealed and my shopping bag is full, but like the Flower Show, there are lots of little things in there. So if you see me around town, don't be surprised if all those little things end up around my neck. I think I have enough to last me through the growing season.