Garden Antique Shows (GardenDesignOnline)

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Botanic gardens in Chicago and New York are hosting two of the best and biggest garden antiques shows, beginning this week at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Chicago's 8th annual Antiques & Garden Fair features over 100 exhibitors from all parts of the US and several from England. A preview evening to benefit the garden will be held April 19th, when you can buy in advance of the formal show opening on April 20th. It runs through April 22nd. Vendors are selling almost everything in the way of garden ornament, from urns and vases to birdbaths, fountains, benches and arbors. Moreover, each vendor is creating a room or garden that demonstrates how to use the items that are up for sale. Prepare for a crowd: last year's show drew over 10 thousand visitors.

The New York Botanical Garden's 15th Annual Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale runs from April 27th through April 29th, with a benefit preview party and collectors' plant sale on April 26th. The garden bills this show as the country's original antiques garden show, with very high quality antiques (meaning: expensive!). Debra Queen, an expert in gnomes and miniature items from South Dartmouth, MA, returns to this year's show, as do Anne and Garrett Row of The Sugarplum in Wilmot NH, featuring a menagerie of garden animals from France And England. Barbara Israel's booth recreates an antique shop in France, and she's offering, among other things, a large circular French gothic revival mirror, a rare Val D'Osne garden seat, and a marble statue of a musician by L. Madrassi of Paris. Even if you can't afford anything, it's worth a trip for inspiration alone. And if you're really into the subject, make sure to find a copy of Israel's book, Antique Garden Ornament (Harry N. Abrams, 1999).

(image: NY Botanical Garden - Barbara Israel & Ben Nelson booths, 2004)