Colorado Garden & Home Show Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Sick of the cold weather? Next weekend spring will arrive with the annual Colorado Garden & Home Show. Not only will the Show celebrate its 50th Anniversary but will include 15,000 blooming flowers, 100 tons of boulders and rocks and 2,000 truckloads of fresh recycled mulch, waterfalls, ponds and streams, paths and elevated walkways and bridges all add to the gardens’ living nature. It’s also the only show produced by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that contributes show proceeds (about $8 out of every $12 ticket) to grants and scholarships. To date, Colorado Garden Show has awarded $3 million in grants and scholarships to 207 organizations to support horticulture in Colorado.

What I really can’t wait to see is the “Secret Garden of Pirate’s Cove” entry garden. I’ve visited LaFond FX special effects company several times to check in on the 25 ft. tall by 32 ft. long pirate ship complete with pirates, cannons and ancient warriors. The enormity of the pirate ship is hard to describe. How they will move it in to the Colorado Convention Center next week will be a sight to see. Curious? Check out the behind-the-scenes video on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Colorado-Garden-Show-Inc/77663835284?ref=ts

More than 600 companies from 25 states and Canada will introduce new technologies in energy-efficient heating and cooling products, window treatments, siding, flooring, lighting, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, patio furniture, gutters, sound systems, storage systems, greenhouses, decks, spas and more. If you ever want to check out options for your dream kitchen or backyard this is the spot.

Other things not to miss:

Feb. 7 - 15
· Master Gardeners from Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will answer all your questions for free. Look for them in their bright green vests in The Education Garden.
· Marvel at the creative floral arrangements and designs in Colorado’s largest juried Flower Show, “Playtime in the Rockies,” presented by the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs.
· Explore The 9News Hot Products Zone for new gardening and home improvement products from a leafproof gutter system to handcrafted children’s furniture to EcoSmart fire to permanent holiday LED lighting and more
· Looking for Green Ideas? Stop by the Smart Energy Living Pavilion to learn the five most important steps for achieving energy efficiency in your home.

Feb. 7-8
· Admire, but do not eat, the 120 extravagant cakes competing for prizes in the show’s botanically-correct “sugar art show.” The “Sweet Times in the Rockies” Cake Decorating Contest will be on display next to the show’s main entrance.
· Don’t miss the celebrity “ICE-OFF” cake competition to benefit The Children’s Hospital on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Demonstration Theater.

Feb. 11
· Stop by the Flower Sale halfway through the show when fading flowers will be removed from the garden and replaced. The Rotary Club will have these flowers on sale to the public for $2 per pot.

Feb. 14
· Discover tips and techniques for successful gardening and home improvement projects presented by regional experts at the Demonstration Theater. Richard Trethewey of This Old House will speak in the Demonstration Theater at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Feb. 15
· Twenty metro area Rotary Clubs will converge on the Convention Center to carefully box 7,000 flowers and ready them for delivery to 60 local nursing homes.

Poop Happens

The write up in last week’s Denver Business Journal says it all. I’ve never been so proud while laughing so hard, so I have to share…

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Speaking of disgusting things, how ‘bout that “Animal Grossology” exhibit in Parker at The Wildlife Experience, way south of Denver, where South Peoria Street meets Lincoln Avenue — and the farther away, the better.

“I have a nephew who is 12, and he thought it was AWESOME!” says Amy Moynihan of GroundFloor Media, which landed this prestigious account. Animal Grossology features a number of interactive and hands-on exhibits, “and you can dissect owl pellets [in animated form], and there’s a big cow that demonstrates how their digestive systems work. There’s lots of game stations, so you can make slime and fake poop.”

School and children’s groups have toured the exhibit, and there are educators and volunteers present to help. More fun facts to be gleaned: A dung beetle can roll dung 50 times its weight, which rivals any politician. Also, cows are the gassiest animals on Earth, which also defies belief as we’re assaulted by political commercials this fall.

When the Gold Pick Awards come around next fall, someone oughta nominate GroundFloor Media for:

• Headline of the Year: “Animal Grossology Exhibit Lands at the Wildlife Experience Featuring Pooper Scoopers, Blood Suckers, Vomit Munchers, Slime Makers and More!”

• Company President Quote of the Year: “Snail slime and the dung beetle, otherwise known as ‘nature’s pooper scooper,’ definitely qualify as unique story angles!” says Laura Love in a GroundFloor Media news release.

The exhibit runs through April 26, with hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. It’s closed Mondays, and we’re guessing that’s when someone places a giant fumigation tent over the building and has at it. Info: www.thewildlifeexperience.org or 720-488-3300, if tiny bugs haven’t burrowed their way into your cellphone.

Religion, Politics and Burritos

Two topics we’ve all been taught to avoid in business meetings and casual conversations are religion and politics. But when GroundFloor Media looked for a way for Qdoba Mexican Grill to enter the world of social media, we decided to enter a conversation already taking place, rather than trying to create a new one. And what better topic to enter than one about the upcoming election?

That’s how TasteBudPolitics.com was born, and nearly 100,000 unique visits later, it seems to be a great strategy. Qdoba’s campaign is a nonpartisan look at 1) how Mexican foods describe people’s personalities – or Q-dentities – and 2) which candidates and issues are important to those people who take the personality quiz.

Personally, I find it fascinating how closely the national Taste Bud Politics results have tracked with national voter polls. And I find it extremely interesting that the only Q-dentity that supports John McCain more than Barack Obama on the national front is the “chips & salsa” group and that, based on analysis conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, Mc Cain is a chips & salsa personality. There are a couple of great articles about consumer product marketing campaigns that are playing on the election; if you’re interested see Joy Davis’ article in the Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/25/companies-rev-up-ballot-games/) and Mike Beirne’s article in Adweek (http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/esearch/e3i6d1955ff988810b8dcab2f3399bcf90e).

No matter your Q-dentity or your political party, I urge you to get out and vote! In Colorado, you can vote early in a variety of locations through Friday. To find your early voting polling place, contact your County Election Officials (http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?tid=147).

Take the Trek

One of the fabulous things about working at GroundFloor Media is that we are committed to working with great clients who have great stories to tell. And that’s not just lip service. That’s why it’s been so wonderful to work with the Denver Story Trek – the epitome of having great stories to tell!

If you haven’t checked it out yet, visit www.denverstorytrek.org to choose your trek through some of the best kept secrets in Denver. The landmark “hubs” of the Trek include the Molly Brown House Museum, Four Mile Historic Park, Black American West Museum, Byers-Evans House Museum and Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. And while all of these establishments are well worth the visit, there are so many things to see along the way as well – like the Stoiberhof Mansion, which reveals a second Denver connection to the Titanic through mysterious passenger Hugh Rood, who lived in this mansion just blocks away from the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown.

The coolest thing about the Denver Story Trek, in my opinion, is the Trek Connect feature. By dialing in on your mobile phone, you can listen to stories along the Trek and record your own memories. There are nearly 40 recorded stories to choose from (and the list is growing), all with a unique perspective on Denver’s rich heritage. Go ahead, call in to share your story and become part of history!

Therapy Garden Healing the “Lost”

This past Saturday I visited a therapy garden with Cheryl Preheim of KUSA (NBC) at an organization called Lost and Found (www.lostandfoundinc.org). We were met at the front door by Loren Lichti, a counselor/therapist and an avid gardener. Lost and Found’s Transitional Living Program (TLP) emancipation program is based in Arvada and gives residential treatment support to emancipating youth who’ve typically come from the “system” (foster care, social services and/or youth corrections). The therapy garden was made possible by a $3,000 grant from the Colorado Garden Show.

Loren has worked with the young men in the TLP program to develop a therapy garden that includes natural space for one-on-one and group sessions. The garden has been carefully designed to incorporate flowers, vegetable and fruit bearing plants, bird houses/feeders/baths and seating areas. It is a vast improvement from the formerly weed-infested area. Loren told us it has been a slow process getting the guys outside to work with him in the garden. “Initially, the guys just watched, but after a few days, they decided to get their hands dirty and now they work in the garden 2-3 hours per day.” We spoke with several of the youth that morning which all have a tough story from serious addictions to broken families to mental health problems. One youth walked me through the garden and showed me various peppers and onions in his plot. He didn’t want to be on camera but mentioned he once thought gardening was for women but had changed his mind. “Now that my garden is growing, I kind of like coming out here. It is peaceful and I can think.”

Therapeutically speaking, remarkable things have happened in the attitudes and hearts of these young men. Loren shared a story about a young man who asked him how long the garden paths they created would exist as he wanted to know if, when he had a wife and kids, he could bring them back to show them the path he built. It was decided that all the garden paths would be named after the youth who built the path. Each path has a sign with the youth’s name, even the ones who have left. “It is kind of cool that when I leave a piece of me will be remembered here in the garden,” a youth told me.

It was an eye-opening experience to speak with these youth. I went home and hugged my kids. I also thanked my parents.

To learn more, check out the segment and interview with Cheryl Preheim here.

~Amy M.