Another successful year! With the Orchard in Bloom festival so close to Mothers Day and with Spring blooming, you couldn't have picked a bad day to go. Although I needed an umbrella for the Preview Party, the 3-day event was perfect for a jaunt outdoors. With sparse rain, attendees were anything but sparse as they enjoyed greenscapes from Vine & Branch, Dave's Lawn & Landscape, Custom Lawn & Landscape, and much much more.

Although rain greeted the guests of the Preview Party on Thursday, April 26, 2007, the party didn't stop. With delicious samples of food from a variety of restaurants, everyone mostly stayed dry and definitely stayed full. Athens on 86th brought a Greek style lasagna and Ruth's Chris Steak House served up some seared tuna. Keltie's (in Westfield) couldn't serve their delicious bread pudding fast enough, and Rene's Bakery served perfect petits fours of brownies, pecan pie, and lemon cake. National Wine & Spirits provided wine, beer was provided by 21st Amendment, and Moet & Chandon provided champagne.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday bloomed with hundreds of visitors and buzzed with activity in each of the tents. The new Artists' Tent gave artists like Julie Houck, Cindy Newcomer and Andy Chen a spotlight in which to showcase their floral and landscape related artworks. A new addition to Orchard in Bloom this year, the Artists' Tent succeeded in bringing special attention to the fine arts.

Vendors were in full bloom this year as well. Not only could you find flower flats and plant potters and tools of the trade, but also tasty soups and dips to take home from Gourmet Soups, beautiful clothes and accessories from shoppes like Haus and Tree Haus Boutiques, and garden giftware from Cit E Scapes.

If you missed the Garden Café, you missed a good meal. I think everyone would agree - because by Sunday afternoon, Aladdin Catering, who sponsored the Garden Café, was not worrying about what to do with leftovers!

It was a perfect time to be a kid at this year's event. If you weren't already delightedly exhausted from the day's activities, like face-painting and Mothers Day crafts, then you sought out an interactive show with Grupo Acupe or maybe took some Hip Hop dance lessons! The extended hours on Friday, April 27, 2007, for Family Night hosted a fantastic turnout! And plenty of entertainment greeted children from 2:00pm through 8:00pm. A magic show, puppet show, cookie decorating and a train ride around the park - all were a big hit with the youngsters.

In my opinion, I have saved the best for last: Rooms in Bloom. If you attended Orchard in Bloom this year, I'm sure these artistically created floral-inspired rooms left a lasting impression. From bedroom to living room, to dining room, the indoors went out as grass, ferns, daisies, roses, lilies, and sunflowers. Hundreds of combinations were brought together to make table settings, living room furniture, and even a complete bedroom set - perfectly inspiring for Spring decorating.

If you missed 2007's Orchard in Bloom, promise yourself you'll make it in 2008.