FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. – When the Penn Allied Nursery Trade Show – better known as PANTS – opened July 23 at the Fort Washington Expo Center, it celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Produced by the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, the show has grown into one of the largest in the Northeast. While the first show opened with 88 exhibitors in makeshift tents in Boiling Springs, Pa., last year’s show featured more than 600 exhibitors and 10,000 attendees from 34 states and five countries.
With the goal of continuing to grow the show, several new components were added to this year’s program. These included an outdoor equipment area and a grower tour making stops at Blue Sterling Nursery, Centerton Nursery, Hopewell Nursery and Overdevest Nurseries. In addition, “meet and greet” morning sessions addressed current industry topics and included a discussion on invasive plants led by Craig Regelbrugge, senior director of government relations for the American Nursery and Landscape Association.
Returning events at this year’s show were the industry networking reception, new product display area, Internet café for viewing online products, garden tour and legislative tour with members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and state regulatory agencies for a hands-on view of the industry. The garden tour stopped at Wallingford Rose Gardens, Hedgleigh Spring – the Cresson Garden, Belvidere and Philip and Jean Schumacher Garden.
For more information about PANTS, contact the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association at 800/893-3411 or check out www.plna.com.
The author is Contributing Editor to Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at acybulski@gie.net.