This Years Halloween Costume Contest Photos 2008

Thanks to everyone that braved the misty weather!
Lots of great costumes this year...Being the Geek that I am, I was very happy to see a bit of Sci Fi make its way into the contest this year. Three Cheers to R2-D2 and the Borg...(for those that don't know who they are...hint...my Mom and Sister....R2 is the dome looking kid, and the Borg is a human machine cyborg...resistance is futile)

Below is the link to the photo library and the second is a slideshow of the event. If anyone wants these pictures at hi-res let me know and I can send it.

I was glad to have two cameras taking photos today. One of them's pictures was completely blurry. So I apologize if I've missed anyone.

halloween costume contest 2008

Wooden Pumpkins

My sister and brother-in-law have a friend who stopped in this week
with some large wooden pumpkins that have he carved out of giant
blocks of wood. Sizes range from 12 inches to 30 inches across.
They're very cool and you don't have to worry about the squirells
eating them.

These are only here for a few days on consignment.

Nostalgic Costume Review

After my last post, I started to reminisce of previous costume contests.
Unfortunately I've only had a digital camera since 2003. Hard to believe its only been five years.
Here are the pictures from 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.
Click on any slide show to see it bigger, and see the photos individually.
2003

View Album

Get your own

2004

View Album

Get your own

2005

View Album

Get your own

2006

View Album

Get your own

Costume Contest - Saturday Oct 25th 2pm

I really can't believe we've been having a costume contest for sixteen years!

Wow...It's still one of my favorite events.

Here's the press release from the paper:
Win at Williams’s 16th annual Costume Contest
Williams Nursery at 524 Springfield Ave. in Westfield will have its 16th annual Halloween Costume Contest on Saturday October 25th at 2 P.M. Please arrive early
There will be 3 age categories:
5 years & under, 6-12 years, and adults (age disclosure not required).
Prizes will be awarded for First place winners for both the 5 and under, and the 6-12 year olds and adults. First prize is a $50 Gift Card, Second prize is a $25 Gift Card, and third is a $10 Gift Card
Call (908) 232-4076 for directions or further information.

Here is the slide show of last years contest:

View Album

Get your own

Just Me in the bogs

Me in the bogs
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Yesterday I got a little bogged down with work....

Actually I got to spend the afternoon in the cranberry bog at Lee farms. Many people have a list of things that they want to eventually do...and instead of driving in a fast race car, or going to the moon, I've always wanted to partake in a cranberry harvest.

NJ is third nationwide in the amount of cranberries that are produced. There are only three fruits that were native to this part of the country. The concord grape, the blueberry, and the cranberry.

There are approximately 3500 acres of cranberries in production in NJ. Most Cranberries in NJ are wet harvested. To wet pick, floodgates on the reservoir feeding the selected area are opened and water flows into the ditches and over the vines to a depth of about 18 inches, just enough to allow the water reel, which resembles a large egg beater, to work. The rapidly rotating water reels stir up the water with sufficient force to dislodge the ripened-cranberries, which float to the surface in a brilliant red mass of color. More info here.

I've included a slide show of some of the pictures I took below. The colors are amazing.

Bulb Planting Results

Here are the results to my bulb planting poll:
Do you plant flower bulbs?

Yes - in the Garden	39 (82%)
Yes - in Pots	1 (2%)
No	8 (17%)

Bellagio Conservatory

Here are the pictures from the Bellagio Conservatory in Las Vegas, showing it in its Fall Splendor.

Scarecrow Contest Entries - 2008

Here are the entries to this years scarecrow contest. Stop in and fill out a ballet casting your favorite!

Note...if you click on the little box with the four arrows, you can watch the slideshow fullscreen.

That's Ent-ertainment!

Yesterday my meeting ended at 4pm so I had a chance to rush to the
conservatory at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.
The conservatory changes there display seasonally and the change into fall was stunning.
Here is a picture of an 'Ent' decked out in berries. For those that haven't read Tolkien, an Ent is a is a race of tree-humans from middle earth.

A sign states that their Ent "takes the time to sit among the colossal pumpkins and enjoy the view of the conservatory.

Off to NLAE leadership forum...

The garden, nursery and landscape industry certainly has a lot of Acronyms...

I'm off to the NLAE (Nursery & Landscape Associations Executive) meeting in Vegas. I'll be meeting with directors of ANLA (American Nursery Landscape Association), GCA (Garden Centers of America), OFA (Ohio Florists Association), NJNLA (New Jersey Nursery Landscape Association), FNGLA (Florida Nursery Grower Landscape Association), MNLA (Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association), INLA(Idaho Nursery & Landscape Association), and about fifty other state and national groups...

...hopefully we'll have name tags:-)

There doesn't look like there will be too much time on the schedule for site seeing, but I'm going to sneak away to the conservatory at the Bellagio for some fall pictures.

Share your Fall Photos

We've been running our hayrides now for almost a decade. I took a few fall shots of the pumpkin patch, and around the garden center. When I was uploading them I was wondering if anyone has taken any fall shots here with their families that they would be willing to share. Email them to me at williamsnursery@gmail.com