As frigid February came to a close, the Philadelphia Flower Show, with its theme “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening,” heralded in over 250,000 visitors. The focus of this year’s show was on the roots (literally and figuratively) of the nation’s 250-year history and its connection with the land.
In addition to being known for soft pretzels, water ice, and cheesesteak, Philadelphia has been home to the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show since 1829. The largest and longest-running horticultural event in the United States, the flower show transforms the convention center into a magical floral landscape for one week, filled with exhibits, competitions, experiences, and shops. To those who have never been to the flower show before, the creation of an outdoor wonderland inside the convention center feels like one of the seven wonders of the world. In addition to bringing in full-sized shrubbery and trees, somehow the flowers are all in bloom precisely during the span of the show.
While the entrance to the flower show is always stunning, this year’s spectacular archway was named “The Forest Floor,” displaying a pastel floral forest with lacy moss, textured bark, and hanging roots. A kaleidoscope of flowers, the displays included a garden table setting, a theatrical floral playbill and stage, and dress forms covered with flowers. There were storefronts built to display rustic scenes with floral accents, home entranceways recreated to show color schemes and wreaths, and zen greenhouses with herbal backdrops.
Besides these many beautiful arrangements, a number of displays focused on more natural landscapes with native plants in the spotlight. In “Before 250,” W. B Saul High School focused on the indigenous plants of the Lenni Lenape people as well as upcycled materials. In “Rooted In Time,” the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators showcased American plants and fungi from the past 250 years.
If you ever want to have a flower named after you, one sure way is to become a first lady in the United States. In the exhibit entitled “First Ladies and their Orchids,” 19 consecutive first ladies were featured with the orchids named after them. All of the featured orchids were at the height of their beauty, with perfect flowers opening just in time for the show.
While walking around the majestic pathways of the flower show, Abington Senior High’s very own garden club had a stunning display of a traditional suburban style garden with box gardens and a trail of living trees framing the beautiful display. In the middle sits a wooden table crowned with plants. As quoted in the display, “A central table invites neighbors to gather, share stories, anticipate harvests, reflect together, and deepen connections.” The gorgeous display won second place!
Gardeners often have their niche interests, which were featured in the Hamilton Horticultural Society section that presented competing plants. For example, there is a Begonia society that has numerous entries for top recognition. Similarly, there were societies focused on bonsai, African violets, cacti, and amaryllises, just to name a few of the categories in this portion of the show.
In past years, there has been a huge portion of vendors and artisans on the same main floor as the displays. This year, due to the size of the show, the vendors were placed in a downstairs section that included jewelry, clothing, garden supplies, garden decor, candy, tea/jam/dips, and many unique products (like a movable chicken coop for backyard chickens, garden art made from upcycled spoons, felted bird houses, and many other interesting items).
Although people often comment that the crowds make the flower show less enjoyable, arriving early seems to be a good strategy. As the doors opened on Sunday of opening weekend, there were definitely a lot of visitors; however, they were fairly dispersed and did not take away from the experience. Additionally, while there are add-ons to the show where people can opt to make flower crowns to wear, there were plenty of people who arrived with their own floral-themed vibe (myself included).
If you missed the show this year, put it on your bucket list and consider making the trip to Center City next year.
