Gardens will go wild and dark at this year’s Indiana Flower & Patio Show.

The 49th annual show, March 10-18 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, will feature a new Gardens Gone Wild! After Dark event at 6:30 p.m. March 11. Garden lighting such as fire pits, candles and torches will be the focus of the one-day after-hours event for ages 21 and older.

“People don’t think about what their houses look like after dark,” said Donell Heberer Walton, executive director of HSI Shows, which hosts the show. “This will give them an idea, an appreciation for what it could be after dark.”

The flower and patio show will close at 6 p.m. on March 11 and reopen with the glowing gardens 30 minutes later. Those who attend the show that day won’t pay to be readmitted, but others will be charged $10.

HSI came up with the idea after Ryan Coyle of BC Architectural Concepts in Noblesville asked to darken the garden area to show off its lighting features.

The Noblesville company designed a cool mountain retreat where snow falls indoors every 30 minutes. At night, BC will show off a custom steel sculpture that shoots fire from the top and water from the bottom. Forward Fabrication in Lawrence Township designed the sculpture.

“The sky’s the limit,” Coyle said of backyard designs available to any homeowner with a yard. “More people are staying at home and investing in what they already have.”

The flower and patio show features more than 25 gardens each themed after a great vacation destination and 450 exhibitors willing to answer questions about turning any backyard into a welcome escape.

The event attracts about 110,000 people each year, Walton said.

Pro Care Landscapes of Carmel designed the show’s featured garden, Lost — An Island Retreat, with the idea of keeping people happy at home.

“We designed it to try and get people into their backyards,” said owner Lowell Rolsky, who has participated in the show 37 years. “It can be a nice getaway from the hectic world.”

When showgoers step into the island retreat, they won’t see grass, Rolsky said. Instead they will find one large water feature separated by walk paths and a low patio space that looks like an island surrounded by water. Outdoor lighting, imbedded in the patio and walkways, will make the area glow.

“The most unique feature is a cutleaf Japanese Maple that is centralized in the garden,” said Rolsky, whose company prides itself on creating focal points that take your breath away.

Pro Care earned the honor of designing this year’s featured oasis after being named last year’s Garden of Excellence.

Web site: www.hsishows.com

source : www.indystar.com