A Spring with no flowers... well no New England Flower show

How can this be? Here we are in the middle of March and not a bulb in sight. With the onslaught of economic hard times, what has been the first sign of spring for many of us in New England has closed its door for the foreseeable future. Gone are the opulent water garden displays with their towering waterfalls that plummet into koi-filled Japanese temple style pools, as well as the fragrant spectacle of thousands of flowering trees, shrubs and bulbs forced into the pinnacle of blooming decadence for this one week to act as a glorious reminder that winter is almost over!  As the temperature plummets once again to below freezing, I long for the opportunity to shake off the cold and wander through its imaginative indoor wonderland of horticultural splendor. Spanning over six acres, the New England Spring Flower Show has been the third largest exhibition of its kind in the world. While the Massachusetts Horticultural Society has replaced it this year with "Blooms", there is no satisfying  substitute.