The "First Timer"

Some highlights of my trip to Raleigh, NC for the Garden Writer's Association Symposium.




**Most Awkward Moments**

-Getting on last on the bus and being forced to meet and converse with George Ball.
-Having to be rescued after being locked in the men's room at the Convention Center.

**Funny Moment during a Concurrent Session**

-THE FARTING SEATS! (Everytime someone plops down to sit (Dan Heims in particular during one session), the chairs act like whoopie cushions.)

**Person/People who impressed me most**

-Fellow Generation Y gardener Kelly Norris (age 22!!), who gave a commanding lecture on how to introduce our generation to gardening.
-Tony Avent and his Juniper Level Botanic Gardens and Plant Delights Nursery.

**Best Meal**

-Buttermilk biscuits with fried chicken and hash browns

**Funniest Compliment Received**

-"What in the bloody hell are you doing in horticulture??!!" - Plantsman John Elsley (after a "performance" during the closing karaoke party)

**Most Memorable Person/People I Met for the First Time In Person**

-Jim Wilson. Who I grew up watching on old tapes of "The Victory Garden"
-Pam Baggett. Garden writer and tropical plant specialist.
-All my fellow "Gen Y" gardeners and writers.

**Person/People I was most relieved to see being a "First Timer"**

-Marty Wingate, Bobby Ward, C. Colston Burrell,

**Most Inspirational Person I Met**

-Mentor: Ed Markham. In his 90's and still going strong!

**Most Inspirational Talk**

-Keynote Speaker: Dr. Dr. Lowell B. Catlett The Greening of America

**Best chat**

-Post dinner and bus chat with Debra Prinzing and David Perry.

Check out all the pics from the Symposium here!!

Greetings from Raleigh!

So , I survived the red-eye flight and made it through Raleigh and completed by first full day of the Garden Writer’s Association Symposium.

It’s the second day and finally there’s a spot with free Wi-Fi. I just got through the second day of exhibits, meeting vendors and scoring on some new plants to grow and try In the Pacific Northwest. Overall, I think it’s been a fairly successful and productive trip. We leave for our first tour in about an hour or so and I should really try and catch up on some more rest, but gosh….the opportunities to network and things I want to mention, the numerous small chats with all sorts of really friendly and courteous people who love plants as much as I do and even more so. While I’m still most certainly the youngest person of the symposium (minus the tolddlers who had to come with mom), I’ve been pretty good at standing my ground, being more eloquent in communicating what I do (which still is a mouthful) and just taking in as much as I’m comfortable taking in. At times, having travelled such far distances for a symposium, you must make the most of the little amount of time, but our schedule is quite packed making it really hard to see the city. We have many wonderful tours over the next two days. I hope I see more of Raleigh.
The smorgasbord of people I’ve meet has been quite tremendous. It’s been so exciting to meet and greet with people representing companies I’ve only heard of and faces and the physical presence of those I only knew by name. I’d go down the list, but I simply don’t have the time and I’m passing in and out here at the lobby the Convention Center.

I better hustle and get my stash of sample plants and this laptop back to my hotel room before our field trip. I’ll post more on my finds and stories in a next couple of posts.
Cheers y’all!

R