Celebrating 30 years of spring at Hicks Nurseries
It is that time of year when gardeners, eager to shake off the winter blues, set their sights on spring’s imminent arrival. In anticipation of warmer weather, tens of thousands of green thumbed enthusiasts will visit Hicks Nurseries for its annual Flower & Garden Show.
A celebration of the sights and smells of spring, the annual showcase is marking its 30th anniversary in 2020. This year’s theme is Celebrations Around the World and planning for the event begins a year in advance.
Long Island’s largest garden center and a sixth-generation family business, the team at Hicks Nurseries first meets to discuss ideas, current trends and customer feedback from prior years. From this meeting an overall theme for the show is chosen. The gardens, props and walkways are then designed.
Installation of the 16,000-square-foot show begins in early February. Garden beds are built with stone pavers and filled with mulch. Props are put into place and then the planting begins. Plants are grown and forced to flower much earlier than they would normally flower in nature, which takes a lot of patience and science. Thus, attendees can expect to see gardens in full bloom which makes the Flower Show so special.
Once the gardens are complete, the show is open for the public to enjoy for 18 days. During this time, the expert staff is watering, pruning and even replacing plants in the gardens as they come in and out of bloom. It is a wonderful time to visit the nursery and enjoy all the gardens have to offer.
Throughout the last 30 years, the show has focused on myriad garden styles from English country to Tuscan, tropical to aquatic, organic to recycled, whimsical and everything in between. The goal is to inspire individuals to bring what they experienced at the show into their own home garden.
The 2020 Flower & Garden Show takes attendees on a Celebration Around the World, inspired by iconic festivals worldwide. Long celebrated throughout the Netherlands, the Tulip Festival is synonymous with spring. Envision walking through fields of tulips among Dutch windmills and sense the renewal, growth and love that tulips signify.
The Holi Festival is one of the most revered and celebrated festivals in India. It is the festival of color, sometimes referred to as the “festival of love”, signifying positivity, happiness, prosperity and friendship. Expect the Hicks’ Holi garden to be bursting with colorful flowers and magical lotus floating in pools of water.
Mardi Gras is the last hurrah before the Lenten fast and no celebration is bigger or bolder than the Carnival of Brazil. Guests can join in on the parade, complete with a giant Macaw float and walk through a garden of agave and palms.
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the end of the coldest days. Welcome in the Lunar Year with a dragon winding its way through the Asian garden complete with flowering cherries, azaleas and flowers in vibrant shades of red and yellow.
The Hawaiian Luau welcomes paradise with warm genuine greetings that are a hallmark of Hawaiian hospitality. This garden is a feast for the eyes featuring a plethora of lush tropical flowers amid a sheer waterfall.
Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican celebration of loved ones that have passed, welcomes spirits back to the realm of the living. The ofrenda is surrounded with marigolds, agave, cactus varieties and other southwest plants to help guide the spirits back to their place of rest.
Hicks’ Independence Day celebration garden is an All-American tribute. Patriotic colors shine in a garden of red, white and blue. Hydrangea, geraniums and other summer flowers abound as we get ready to bask in the glow of fireworks from above.
The 2020 Hicks Flower & Garden Show will take place Thursday, March 12 through Sunday, March 29. Admission and parking is free. For additional information about the event, visit www.hicksnurseries.com.
Karen Musgrave, CNLP, is a marketing and education specialist at Hicks Nurseries.
