Carl, I'd also be interested in hearing comments about these two shows from other posters. We have attended both and found them to be highly commercialized with fewer displays of flowers, gardens and growing things than we would have liked. The last one we attended was the Connecticut show about five years ago, so maybe this criticism is no longer valid?

I haven't been to the Hartford show, so I can't vote. always check for talks I want to attend, though, and this year the Rhode Island show has some good ones, according to the RI show schedule of talks.

Speakers include David Culp (Saturday and Sunday) and someone from the Coastal Maine Botanic garden (Friday). I find that having a talk on my schedule helps me focus and gives my feet a break.

I've been to the RI show twice. I enjoyed the last time as far as the displays went, but I won't be going again. I would like more displays, and far, far less of the commercial/trade booths. I would have loved to have been able to buy plants, bulbs or seeds, but there were few plants or seeds to buy, and way too many booths showcasing things that, in my opinion, have nothing at all to do with gardening. There were a lot of crafts, for example. While there's nothing inherently wrong with doing crafts, embroidering a rose on a pillow cover doesn't seem to make it a flower show commodity. Same was true of cleaning products, ceramic items, some of which had a flower decal, even house painting supplies (?) and so forth.

Bill, that was our take, too, on the RI show, which is why we never returned. By the month of February, I'm usually anxious to see garden displays or new plants rather than crafts or products for sale. Although, the link to the speakers that DtD provided was tempting.