Tuesday morning Wendy gave her name at the side entrance to the Convention Center and immediately went to find Claudia in Section Eighteen. Men were setting everything up with Claudia’s directions. Wendy’s plants and flowers were set aside in a mixed group.

She joined Claudia and a woman standing next to her. “Wow, it already looks impressive.”

“Yes, it does. Oh Wendy, this is my assistant, Linda.”

The women exchanged greetings and handshakes.

“As soon as they finish with the furniture setups you can display the plants and flowers. As you see we needed to decrease the size of the patio because of a shortage of space, but I’m sure there’s room for your plants. Hope you like the way it looks.” Wendy surveyed the area. “Yes, I do, it’s great. Can’t wait to put the greenery around.” Other showcases were setting up, like bedrooms, kitchens, and of course, other living rooms and dining rooms, but not many patio areas. Wendy knew a lot of money and time went into the plan for the execution of each designer’s showcase. This showcase provided important publicity for all of them.

Their actual set up took a little over two hours. Claudia, Wendy, and Linda were relieved they could finish on the first day.

Early Wednesday Wendy retuned to the Convention Center and placed a variety of plants on the patio and stood back to take stock. She changed the position of a few plants until she was comfortable with them. A red cordyline plant sat next to the wrought iron bench. A beautiful red and white Oriental Lily, along with a yellow one, sat in front of two palms near the outside entrance to the living room. The cushions on the love seat were soft, floral colors of pale green, yellow, tan, and peach. On the table she put a ground cover campanula with its pretty blue flowers.

She moved into the living room and dining room areas. On a table next to a cabinet, she placed a colorful coleus and on the dining table a small, very dainty maidenhair fern. On the coffee table she placed a smaller floral arrangement of miniature roses. By the inside sliding door to the patio, two red and white fuchsias stood on tall wrought iron stands. Wendy stood back from the display. The room looked alluring, a restful place to gather.

Before the show opened on Friday the three women walked around to see other displays. It fascinated Wendy to see so many interesting ways to decorate rooms. They stopped to chat with a couple of designers and returned to their set up shortly before the doors opened. The three of them were ready to answer any questions and hand out business cards.

The first person to ask Wendy a question was a tall, distinguished looking woman. “Excuse me, miss.”

“Yes, did you have a question?”

“Actually, I do. Can you tell me about that fuchsia?” as she pointed to it on the wrought iron stand.

“Well, their care is pretty easy. They prefer shade, north light is good, and they like to dry out a bit before re-watering. After they bloom, if you nip off the dead blooms, it encourages new growth and new blooms. They bloom from spring through summer. The popular colors are purple, red and pink.”

“Thank you. I’m definitely looking into them.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sure you’ll find them exceptional.” That conversation reminded Wendy she needed to work on getting a blue fuchsia like her mom wanted.

It turned out many visitors asked questions. Wendy liked listening to the customers discuss their gardens. Some visitors went into greater detail. The description of their gardens and how they came up with their designs intrigued her. So many creative people impressed Wendy.

On the last day of the show, as the hours drifted away, the women agreed they were completely satisfied at the outcome of their design showcase. The next morning Linda arranged for the plants and other items to be returned to Claudia’s warehouse. Charlie picked up Wendy’s plants and returned them to the nursery.