Philadelphia Garden Show

When you go to the Philadelphia Flower Show, it helps to take along the right attitude. If seeing gorgeous, high concept gardens full of the most fashionable flowers makes you feel insecure, then take yourself elsewhere. If you need a massive dose of color, fragrance, humidity, and horticultural inspiration, then the Philadelphia Flower Show will be perfect for you. On my calendar, it officially marks the end of winter. It also reminds me of everything that a garden can be—provided you have a forklift, a crew of ten, at least $20,000 and the ability to make crocuses, roses and hydrangeas all bloom simultaneously.

The centerpieces of the Flower Show are the display gardens, sponsored by nurseries, florists, educational institutions and other horticultural (and occasionally non-horticultural) entities. This year, one of the pieces de resistance was a Victorian house, complete with “gingerbread” trim and surrounded by a sumptuous garden. Another well-publicized display featured an array of CD’s suspended high above the plants. As the CD’s twinkled in the reflected light, I felt as if I had wandered into some kind of horticultural disco.

Every year I stand in awe of the flower arrangements, many of which are literally and figuratively over the top. Each exhibitor articulates a theme, which, thankfully, is spelled out on cards beneath or beside the arrangement. Most of the arrangements are large, and many are gorgeous. Some are just inexplicable. A large sculptural installation dominated the center of the display area, looking as if it had been constructed from pieces of a child’s giant metal building set. Long metal rods connected balls and cubes covered with red or white carnations, and the whole thing revolved slowly. The