Plant shows provide educational materials and presentations to broaden your knowledge about particular plants and raise interest and popularity of those plants. It's a wonderful opportunity to interact with other gardeners, propigators/hybridizers/growers, authors, and gardeners with many years of hands on experience eager to share their tips, tricks, and secrets with other gardeners. I am very visual and especially enjoy how they are used inside and outside, potted up, and combination plantings. In general they also give garden clubs and societies the opportunity to promote their organization, involve a contest where plants and foliage are judged, and include a gardenning/plant related marketplace. I've heard that Philadelphia and Cincinnati are among the best in the US. I attended the Philadelphia show in 1996 and it was awesome. Chelsea garden show is on my bucket list. One only has to view Neils pix from British Gardening to see why.
