It’s that time of year again when I happily stroll the floral displays at the Adams Fairacre Farms Spring Garden Show! I have been coming to this annual garden show for over eighteen years and look forward to it every year. It always opens when I need it most, after a long, grey winter when I’m craving to see flowers in bloom. And this year, after a particularly harsh winter, I was so excited to walk into that greenhouse and feel like it was spring. The pops of color instantly lift my spirits and remind me that spring is coming. Remember how Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz lived in a world of black and white until she entered Oz? That is how I feel when I go to the Adams Spring Garden Show. Entering the exhibit, I am transported from my wintry world in its shades of white, grey, and brown to a world of Technicolor brilliance. The show is always a delight with its abundant spring blooms in dazzling colors and fantastic water features, all built inside their greenhouse.
The show is an effective way to keep the Adams landscapers employed in the winter as they plan, build, and plant the show’s exhibits each year. In the weeks leading up to the grand opening, employees cover all the greenhouse windows, leaving customers giddy with anticipation as they wonder what the show will look like this year.
Of course, the show’s main draw is the many beautiful spring flowers and shrubs all in full bloom. The pops of spring color and fragrant blooms lift your spirits as you stroll through the displays. Each year, I can’t help but take in the fragrance of a blooming lilac as soon as I enter and find myself returning several more times for another whiff before begrudgingly leaving the show.
Besides the lilacs and other flowering shrubs, there are always tulips, daffodils, azaleas, chrysanthemums, impatiens, and pansies throughout the show. I love the bright pink, yellow, purple, and orange pops of color interweaved among tropical plants, variegated shrubs, and saplings. After a long, grey winter, seeing these colors always brings joy to my soul!
Since 2021, I have been taking you along and sharing my experience at the show each year. I hope your bags are packed, because in today’s post, I’m bringing you once again on a field trip to the Adams Spring Garden Show.
For the past three years, the show has had a theme: Adams in Wonderland, Renaissance, and this year, Around the World. As you meandered along the paved path, you were transported around the world, traveling to Africa, Holland, India, and Mexico before returning once again to Kingston. Let’s take a trip!
Africa:
Tropical plants galore! The African section of the show boasted loads of tropical anthuriums, monstera, palms, pothos, bromeliads, ferns, and more, tucked in neatly in the borders surrounding the path. As you turned the corner, a beautiful, misty waterfall appeared. The water features are always my favorite at the Adams Spring Garden Shows. Something about the sight and sound of running water captivates me. As I walked, I spied statues of giraffes and alligators peeking from behind the foliage, reminding me which part of the world I was taking in. Such lushness of foliage made my heart happy.
Holland:
Next, we traveled to Holland. It wasn’t difficult with the hundreds of tulips and the windmill to guess this location! I loved how the tulips were planted in swaths of color, just as they are in the fields of Holland, leading your eye playfully to the windmill at the top of the hill. Someday, I’d love to see the real tulip fields of this faraway land.
India:
Next up was India, with its peacocks and lotus pool. While chatting with a landscaper involved in the project, I learned that this was the most difficult section of the show to portray. It must be challenging to get the plants of India in New York during the winter. But I felt they gave this stop on the tour a valiant effort, and it was indeed beautiful.
Mexico:
Our last stop on our garden tour was Mexico. I loved how they incorporated succulents and cacti in the landscape. Multi-colored hanging flags fluttered in the breeze above as we enjoyed the view from the patio.
More friends peeked out from the foliage to say hello as we walked back to Kingston.
After our first trip around the world, we decided to take it one more time to make sure we didn’t miss anything before returning once again to Kingston. I didn’t want to leave the show and walk back out into the cold of winter awaiting me outside, but alas, I couldn’t stay at the show forever.
Thank you again, Adams Fairacre Farms, for bringing joy and a hint of spring to the winter months. Each year, the sights and fragrances that hit my senses at your show are a boon to my soul as I patiently await Spring’s arrival.
THISTLE BE THE DAY 