A New Hampshire Original 

 Triples in Size 



Stephen Curtin 



The Monadnock Region's Breath of Spring Flower 

 Show, attended by 12,000 people in \995 and 

 I9P6, will tai<e a giant step forward in late 

 March, moving to the Keene area's Cheshire 

 Arena and tripling in size to 25,000 square feet of 

 landscaped gardens, floral designs, vendor display 

 booths, and workshop areas. 



Relying on the efforts of hundreds of landscapers, 

 garden club members, nursery people, and other vol- 

 unteers, Breath of Spring is organized by Home 

 Healthcare, Hospice, and Community Services to raise 

 funds for Hospice care for the terminally ill in 40 New 

 Hampshire communities. The show will open on Sat- 

 urday, March 22nd and run through Tuesday, March 

 25. Times are Saturday, 9-9; Sunday, 10-5; and Mon- 

 day, 9-5. General admission is five dollars. 



This year's central display theme, "When East 

 Meets West," promises an imaginative blending of 

 traditional western motifs with Asian and Japanese 

 designs and plants. The central display will cover 

 more than 10,000 square feet, and includes water fea- 

 tures, a bonsai tea house and other structu 

 a sand garden, 7,000 flowers, cherry 

 trees, azaleas, and other 

 blossoming trees and 

 shrubs. 



Breath of Spring's 

 lead designer, 

 landscaper Chuck 

 Simpson of Dublin 

 also designed the 

 show in 1995 and 

 1996, when 

 "Backyard Beauty" 

 and "Your Secret 

 Garden" were 

 themes. "What's 

 unique about this 

 show," says Simpson 

 "is that while landscapers, 



nurseries, florists, and other green industry folks have 

 their own booths, many also work cooperatively on 

 the central display, making it a community gift to ev- 

 eryone. We aren't as large as the Boston Show but, 

 by working together, we're still able to dazzle people 



and deliver Spring a little early to everyone — in a 

 slightly smaller, cozier environment that many people 

 have said they prefer over Boston." 



Peter and Susan Kelleher of Kelleher Greenhouses 

 in Chesterfield have been key contributors from the 

 beginning, working with florist Eric Anderson to force 

 thousands of bulbs each year, as well as to grow hun- 

 dreds of square feet of grass in shallow plastic trays 

 to add a vibrant green touch to selected areas of the 

 display. 



Five Monadnock area garden clubs contribute doz- 

 ens of table top floral designs each year. This year's 

 Breath of Spring design categories will focus on oriental 

 traditions; categories include "Water Reflections", 

 "Tea Time", and "Meditation". 



Below. Ad example of a landscape garden "representing a Tea 

 Garden designed by a priest called Saito Dosan, and intended to 

 suggest the pictorial style opf a Chineses painter famous for his 

 paintings of hills of wild Cherry trees. Source. Landscape 

 Gardening in |apan by \oseph Conder. 



THE PLANTSMAN 



