April showers brought not only flowers, but some 650 people to the Rites of Spring Garden Show preview party at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. They braved a spring storm outside to be greeted with more water inside, bubbling from fountains amid beautifully landscaped gardens created in the 4-H Building.

The Rites of Spring event raised $75,000 for the Union Memorial Hospital Foundation and its patient-care programs, so it's was no surprise that many Union Memorial VIPs were among the guests at the preview party. They included hospital president Harry Rider; hospital VP Brad Chambers; board chair Ed Brody; and Tom Paulin, the foundation's executive director.

Others enjoying the scenery included Lindsay Carroll and Paul Segalman, event co-chairs; John McDaniel and Michael Merson, MedStar Health's CEO and president; Donna Richardson, production manager for Comcast Cablevision of Maryland; Michael Harrison, general director of the Baltimore Opera Company; Jerry Stautberg, owner of Jerry's Chevrolet; and Dorothy McIlvain Scott, longtime hospital supporter.