"The Movies" was the theme this year for the Philadelphia Flower Show — “The Movies” was the theme this year for the Philadelphia Flower Show

As you enter the Philadelphia Flower Show, you feel that you are visiting an old time movie theater that has a marquee, bright lights, and excitement, and you even smell the buttery scent of popcorn. And yes, they actually were selling hot buttery popcorn freshly popped, like hotcakes!

Cars themed Rt 66 executed by Burke Brothers Landscapes

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in March. The oldest and largest indoor show, the spectacle features elaborate landscapes, and over-the-top floral creations.

Not only a flower show, visitors experience live shows and entertainment, culinary demonstrations, DIY workshops and lectures. I did a demo on Fairy gardens meets the movies called “Tinkerbell and Beyond” and showed everyone how to arrange a miniature landscape. Tinkerbell, The Hobbit, and Fern Gully gardens complete with animals and fairies were put together on the demo stage and I had a great helper who was eager to play in the dirt.

I had an assistant to help me with my demo on miniature gardens.

My assistant made a great fairy garden with a little coaching

Tinkerbells' miniature garden — Tinkerbells’ miniature garden

The aisles were thronged with people trying to get a good view of the very inventive interpretations of movies.

'Nightmare Before Christmas' was a big hit — ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ was a big hit

Four season containers were on display to demonstrate that you can have containers planted all year long.

: Four season containers

But the movie exhibits were so interesting that I kept going back to them to check them out.

Chicken coop made out of an old car for “Cars” movie!

: Ratatouille was so cute!

I loved these air plants that were upside down in dried sea urchins to mimic jelly fish-In Finding Nemo — I loved these air plants that were upside down in dried sea urchins to mimic jelly fish-In ‘Finding Nemo’

Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatters Tea Party

I loved this storefront of underwear made of flowers! — I loved this storefront of underwear made of flowers

The miniatures were wonderful as usual and I am doing another post on just the miniature gardens and scenes. Stay tuned for part 2.

The PHS (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society)Philadelphia Flower show is the nation’s largest flower show, clocking in at 10 acres of the Philadelphia Convention Center, and features the areas premier landscape designers and florists, with cutting edge designs and horticulture. The entrance garden of “ARTiculture”, inspired by the paintings and sculptures of Alexander Calder, the artist that most of us know from his inventive mobiles, is a stunner.

Show by Numbers

20 truckloads of mulch used for exhibits
1,000 Butterflies in the Butterfly Experience room
3,500 volunteers
1,500 calories burned walking through the show
5,000 plant entries in horticulture
500,000 pounds of hardscape used
42,000 Hors d’oeuvres served at the Preview Party ( I wished I could have made this!)
86 pounds of chocolate eaten at the Preview Party
1,368 bottles of wine served at the Preview Party
25,000 hotel rooms occupied in the region during the Flower Show
1 Million raised each year by the Flower Show to benefit programs by the PHS

“ARTiculture”, the fusion of art and horticulture, was one of the best shows that I have experienced by the Philadelphia Horticulture Society. It seems to me that art and flowers go hand in hand, so this pairing was a natural. Floral design is an art form, which involves all the principles used in creating art, and a perfect theme for the show. The area’s leading art museums – the Penn Museum, Woodmere Art Museum, Grounds for Sculpture, the Brandywine River Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Barnes Foundation, The Getty, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, all influenced and partnered with the PHS flower show in celebrating great horticultural design as an art form. The gravitas of these respected organizations that helped out with the staging of the show, brought it up a notch in my estimation.

Horticulture

The horticulture exhibits were as usual outstanding, and I often wonder if the exhibitors have access to greenhouses as well as personal gardeners!

I always appreciate it when something bizarre and odd-looking gets a blue ribbon. This time, it was an Ariocarpus fissuratus, a rare slow-growing cactus. Weird!

The miniature gardens were well represented and I particularly liked the one with the artist’s palette. The exhibitor interpreted the show theme perfectly.

I always enjoy the Bonsai displayed against a backdrop of a Japanese house, another improvement from last year. I go here to escape from the crowds and to enjoy the simple stark miniature trees.

Bonsai at the Philly Show is a peaceful respite from the crowds

Miniatures

Usually the miniatures are so crowded, that you have to wait in a long line to view them. This time around, I got in early because I was judging the show and only exhibitors who were making last-minute adjustments were on the floor.

Floral Designs

The designs as usual were fabulous and I particularly liked the store windows this year which I judged. I really liked the one in the lower right hand corner that was designed as a store front of an art store. Very appropriate for the show! It did not win the blue ribbon because the flowers did not match the craziness of the cutouts. The flowers used were too small and not unusual enough to fit in with the wild cutouts. The winner for this class was the store front with the red shoes. Very cutting edge!