Flower Show Tradition Will Continue
by Hilda M. Morrill
February 20, 2008
 The New England Spring Flower Show is called the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's most visible and most enduring tradition.
I always enjoy sharing the following information, which is edited from a column I wrote many years ago based on MHS records:
The Society itself was officially established in 1829 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the art and science of horticulture. But, in fact, its first "members" were really a group of friends and business colleagues who had been gathering informally for years to discuss all things horticultural.
 From the very beginning, and before the Society had a formal home, its members would bring cut flowers to their meetings. This let to weekly Saturday exhibitions (mostly for the enjoyment of the membership), which could be called the first unofficial "MHS Flower Shows."
Eventually, big annual productions were planned to which the public was invited, but they were always held in the fall, since most of the plant material had to be grown outdoors. Naturally, "harvests" were emphasized—resulting in most of the exhibits featuring fruits and vegetables rather than flowers.
In fact, many of the fruits and vegetables that we take for granted today were actually first introduced at Massachusetts Horticultural Society shows. Two examples are Concord grapes and Waltham butternut squash.
After being "homeless" for several years, Society members built the first Horticultural Hall in 1845 on School Street near the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston. In 1852 the show was too big for the hall and was held in a tent in The Public Garden. By 1865, the Society had a new larger home on Tremont Street across from the Old Granary Burying Ground.
With the proliferation of greenhouses and conservatories, especially on the outlying large estates, bulbs, plants and trees could now be "forced" to leaf out and bloom out of season; and in 1871, the spring show became the Society's major yearly horticultural event.
By 1901 the Society had moved to Horticultural Hall on Massachusetts Avenue across from Symphony Hall; and that year the spring show was held there even though the building was not completed.
Old photographs from the 1912 show reveal Horticultural Hall transformed into magnificent Italianate gardens. The 1922 show featured a "New England forest gorge" filled with native plants.
In 1923, the growing exhibition had to move to Mechanics Building; and for the first time, staging was used depicting home facades in some of the landscaping displays.
In 1959 it was decided to return to Horticultural Hall using Symphony Hall as a supplementary display area. Needless to say, this caused many logistical challenges. Wonderland Race Track in Revere became the venue in 1960, and later Suffolk Downs. Then came Commonwealth Armory followed by the old Northern Avenue Pier, the site of today's World Trade Center.
 Several years ago a move was made to the Bayside Exposition Center, where the show takes place this year for the last time.
In 2009, the New England Spring Flower Show will move yet again, this time to the new Boston Convention Center.
Times marches on, but the tradition will continue!
Images are © Hilda M. Morrill, and are from the 2002, 2004 and 2005 New England Spring Flower Shows, held at the Bayside Exposition Center, Boston.
(Note: After this article was published, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society announced that the 2009 Flower Show would remain at the Bayside Exposition Center after all. Then, on November 1, 2008 it was reported that the 2009 New England Spring Flower Show had been cancelled.)
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