Despite Winter Gloom, Boston Flower Show In Full Bloom

A display at the Boston Flower Show. (Lana Jones/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)

BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- With storm after storm, things may look a bit gray outside--but the Boston Flower Show is back in full bloom, serving up inspiration for seasons of color to come. 

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones went over to the flower show at the World Trade Center in the Seaport District to get some tips on restoring lawns and gardens after a harsh winter that included record cold and punishing nor'easters.

Master Gardener Lisa Swanson said the biggest issue people will have to deal with is tree damage.

"Lot of large trees that went down, not only on folks' homes, in their yards," she said. "Could take out garden sheds, could take out greenhouses--but also, any established gardens that people have."

Holly Perry of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society offered some advice to homeowners worried about the state of their gardens after the winter.

"Certainly shrubs and trees are going to have to be examined very carefully, because the weight of this snow has been very damaging," said Perry. "You need to check them, you need to prune out the damaged areas. Certainly, if you are dealing with trees and it's way up in the canopy, you're going to need a professional to do that ... you pull out what is dead first, and you want to use a bypass pruner of some sort so that it makes a clean sweep."

Perry said she was not so concerned about perennials as a homeowner, because the snow acts as an insulator from temperature and also provides them water.

But storm damage wasn't the only thing people were asking about.

"A lot of people want to know about different plant materials they can use, drought-tolerant, native-type plants for their yards because of the recent drought conditions we've had over the last few years," Swanson said. "A lot of people coming in and just wanting, what can I use for color, for different perennials, or different grasses."

One woman who drove in from Brookfield said the show is her inspiration every year for filling in her sizable garden.

"I have all kinds of notes, I've been taking notes walking around," she said. "I have to restrain myself after I leave here and not buy too much."

She said she's eager to get her hands in the dirt.

"As soon as that snow's gone I'm gonna be out there, even if it's a little muddy!"

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports


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