CNY in Bloom Show 2012

Had a great weekend at the CNY in Bloom show at the new SRC Arena at the OCC Campus in Syracuse, NY.  Syracuse has had trouble sustaining a garden show, especially since the economy went down a few years back, so I wasn't surprised when I heard that they changed it to more of a lifestyle show, where gardening took a back seat.

The promoters also changed the venue, which was actually a great thing.  The new arena is fantastic!  Easy to get to, great parking, and it's really well laid out inside.  They already have some concerts scheduled in addition to all the sports games, so it should be a really great addition to Syracuse.  And with the Landmark Theatre recently remodeled, I really hope we can get more quality acts in Syracuse.

Anyway, back to the show.  There was a great section with just New York State based businesses, crafters and artisans, so that was good.  I bought a couple of really cool pieces that I'd love to share with you.

There weren't very many garden displays, but what they had was so nice to see after a long winter.  We've actually been having a mild winter with little snow, which just makes me yearn for Spring even more with all the mild temperatures we've had.

Now on to my goodies.  I love this bird.  I guess he is supposed to be a peacock, but what I do know is he is a beautiful piece of rusty goodness.  They actually had several really great birds, all with different types of bodies.  Some had enamel bowls and pots and one had a gear for a body (which I almost bought), but then I saw this one and had to have him.  I love the fluted edges of this dish.  It's quite heavy also, so not sure what it was used for originally.  I can't wait to display him in the garden.

I'm a sucker for flower shaped garden art, so of course I had to buy this one.  There is a glass plate attached to the metal shaped flower petals.  Not sure what they used to attach it, so I'm curious to check it out a little further.  If I can figure it out, I think I might cut some green stained glass leaves to add to the wire leaves, otherwise they sort of disappear into the landscape.

And my favorite piece of the day is an art print from a local artist named Bob Ripley.  You can check out his work here.  I fell in love with this one the moment I saw the original watercolor hanging in his booth.  It's titled "United Plates".  He told us that he discovered the barn a while back and then found this car sitting alone and thought they would look great together, and thus this masterpiece began.