Return to Table of ContentsApril 1998
Once Again, UMB Garners Awards
at Spring Flower ShowPlants of the Jurassic Age -- the age of the great dinosaurs -- live on, even as the animals they sustained vanished from the face of the earth millions of years ago. This was the message of the UMass Boston exhibit at the 1998 New England Spring Flower Show held March 7-15 at the Bayside Exposition Center.
The exhibit, created by greenhouse director James Allen and his work/study students, held pots of ferns, mosses, cycads, and other plants dating back to ancient times, and provided informational placards and brochures to provide an understanding of their place in the Jurassic Age of the world, and today.
The exhibit drew many people, especially families, who were drawn by the fossils that Allen used to punctuate the plant display. The UMass Boston display stood out as a particularly educational one among the many lush displays of flower gardens, gazebos, community gardens, wildflower and herb gardens.
"In spite of the fact that putting on a flower show exhibit is a lot of work, it's all worth it when I see school groups coming through and the enjoyment that they get from it," says Allen.
This year, the UMass Boston exhibit garnered a bronze medal and an educational certificate from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sponsors of the show for 127 years. Proceeds from the Flower Show benefit projects and programs of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.