By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

SYMMES TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Cincinnati Horticultural Society’s Spring Flower Show bloomed in a new setting this year. After many years at Coney Island, the 2009 show was presented in Symmes Township Park.

The Spring Flower Show is America’s most acclaimed flower show, featuring world class exhibits, social events, gardeners’ and plant markets, a lecture series and tours. It is the only North American flower and garden show endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain.

This year the Grand Marquee, featuring gorgeous presentations by florists, was housed in three tents; visitors flocked to the booths, with vendors from all over the country represented. One eye-catching display featured several young women perched in a tall tree. Tim Back, president of Back Tree & Landscape, Inc., staged it.
“I was able to demonstrate proper personal protection equipment,” said Back, who is a Certified Arborist and an accredited member of the Tree Care Industry Assoc. “They had the right saddles, used the right knots and ropes, safety glasses and hard hats with straps. In a noisy work situation, ear plugs would be included.”

In seminars Back demonstrated pruning, demonstrated a $4,000 instrument that checks the interior structure of a tree for soundness and talked about soil remediation.