A full year between shows should be enough to prepare, he said. Getting a greenhouse restocked and full of new plants shouldn’t be that much trouble, he said. This was before dealing with last-minute insanity with an old Day Job, getting an offer on a new Day Job, and seeing the start of what is officially the wettest May in Dallas history. Even with the number of eleventh-hour obstacles, the Texas Triffid Ranch opened its sixth show at Texas Frightmare Weekend on May 1 with a minimum of drama and a surplus of enjoyment. No matter how trying the weeks leading up to it, the attendees and crew at Frightmare make the trip all worth it.
Without question, this year’s Frightmare was the biggest any of us had ever seen, and the trick was preparing for it. This included an extra table, extra displays, Nikki the brand new booth assistant (who deserves a serious raise due to her exceptional presentation and sales skills), a larger truck…we joked at one point that the only way to bring out more was to turn the Made In Texas Hall into a big greenhouse, stay there the entire year, and raise plants in situ. It hasn’t gotten to that point, yet, but it’s awfully tempting.
And one thing that needs to be promoted more heavily next year. One of the side effects of running a carnivorous plant nursery is getting tips on all sorts of remainders and discounts, and making friends with the staff at a Walgreen’s meant being told “By the way, did you know that we’re marking down all of the Monster High Venus McFlytrap dolls we ordered for Christmas?” Of course, as any child of hoarders will tell you, the trick is not taking advantage of such largesse but making sure that it doesn’t take over the whole house. The idea seemed simple, as was posted all over Twitter: come out in a plant-related costume and win a free prize solely for showing up in costume. This year, we didn’t see more than one floral attendee, and she had no idea the giveaway was going on, but everyone won all the same.
More to follow…