One for the books

**M* <m*@optonline.net>**

Two topics in one post.

Friday I received my complementary copy of  "The Daylily - A Guide for
Gardeners". I was quite happy with my photos but not so thrilled with my
chapter in the book. The "authors" had decided to change the names of some
of the daylilies I had recommended. They inserted their own hybrids,
daylilies that I've never grown or even seen. I'm not too thrilled to be
recommending something I don't grow.

A quick search on-line shows me that it might be less expensive for me to
order additional copies from Amazon, they do not charge shipping charges if
it's an order over $25.00.

Second topic:
This is one for the books! Last week I designed and installed a children's
garden for a flower show that was held at SUNY Farmingdale. Although I
wasn't happy about it, I had agreed to work for free for this one show.
Working for free in the past has gotten me a "paid" job with the Hofstra
Flower show and I hoped this would turn out the same.

The garden theme was to be a Pirate Garden. I had planned a maze and the
children would be give a treasure/scavenger list so they could hunt out
various attractions. The money for the garden was to come from the show
chair people. A month before the show I was given a budget of $100 plus the
offer to raid the campus tropical gardens and greenhouses. I've never done a
show with a budget of less than $5000. This meant I did the entire
installation myself, lugging in 8 - 10 foot banana trees and so on.

The show chairman decided it should be a Haunted pirate garden since the
show was to be over Halloween weekend. I was very unhappy, he constantly
came into the exhibit telling me to make it scarier. I put my foot down when
he tried to get the theatre group to come as pirates with cut off limbs and
blood and gore. Scaring kids has nothing to do with gardening.

Finally the exhibit was ready. Saturday 15 kids came through, turns out
there was no advertising budget at all. Sunday morning when I arrived I
found out that students had played in the exhibit over night (the room
wasn't locked) and they had broken and smashed parts of the exhibit. When I
told the show chairman what had happened he urged me to check the exhibit
for used condoms!!! I was shocked and asked him just what was I supposed to
do if I found any?

I did do a quick search, only because I couldn't live with the thought that
a child might find something disgusting but then I grabbed my car keys and
slipped out the back door. When I returned on Monday to take my possessions
out of the exhibit I was told that not one child came to the show on Sunday.

Was I wrong to walk out? I don't know if the cold feelings I felt from the
show people was because I left or if they were just totally embarrased?

Melanie Vassallo
melaniev@optonline.net

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