Show opens with flowers, fountains

If you're in the market for a hand pruner or a lopper to get your shrubs nipped into shape, you may want to stop by the booth occupied by Wayne Ball of North Carolina at the QCCA Flower & Garden Show, taking place today through Sunday at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island.

Just give yourself plenty of time.

Ball has quite apitch for his Florian-brand tools, extolling both their efficiency and the fact that they are made in the United States, specifically Connecticut.

To demonstrate their efficiency, he has on hand asupply of various-sized tree branches that he invites people to cut with his tools. I trieda branch about 1 inches in diameter with the ratcheted lopper and was amazed to slice right through.

Ball also promotes themade-in-the-States angle with signs that read, "Stop economic suicide, buy American!"

Nextto Ball's booth is a display ofbirdhouses made from gourds by Sid Meyers of Indiana. TheQuad-Cities has an active gourd group, and I've seen lots ofgreat work, but the glossy, ceramic-like finish on his birdhouses was new to me.

The secret is three coats of exterior spar urethane, the kind used on boats, which is applied as a spray, he said. "People are always walking up to them, tapping them" to figure out what they're made of, he said.

"They are built to be truly functional," he added. "There's a clean-out hole on the bottom and vent holes at the top." Among the types of birds attracted to the houses are the tufted titmouse, chickadee and nuthatch, he said. The cost ranges from $23 to $32.

In the area of "hot" plants, you'll find a multicolored selection of succulents and heucheras from Distinctive Gardens in Dixon, Ill.;tiny plants for fairy gardens from the Miniature Garden Shoppe in Kewanee, Ill., and small hanging terrariums from Janet White of Emden, Mo.

In the landscape vein, retaining walls made of tumbled concrete, fire pits, fountains, patiosand outdoor kitchens are well-represented, although not quite as heavily as in some recent years.

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Show opens with flowers, fountains