Philadelphia Flower Show

The Philadelphia Flower Show is the grand-daddy of all the flower shows. I believe it is also the first of the flower shows since it began in 1827 - making it over 175 years old! The show's ten acres of displays can be found annually in March at the Philadelphia Convention Center. I heard that they expected over 275,000 people to attend this year's show during it's weeklong run.

I have been to other flower shows, but this was my first time to the Philly Show. I combined the trip with a visit with my brother and his family in New Jersey. My sister-in-law and I took a train from Trenton to Philadelphia and got off the train right beneath the convention center. Nothing could have been more convenient!

Even though we went during the week, the crowds were huge and we couldn't get near some of the larger display gardens because the crowds were often ten or more people deep. This year's theme was "Legends of Ireland" and my favorite display was of a Celtic church and graveyard in "ruins". It was amazing and took over 50,000 lbs. of stone to create the church. The display won Best in Show and I was pleased to later find out it was created by Celtic Gardens from Dexter, Michigan. I live perhaps an hour away from Dexter, so it was nice to see a local represented in the show and also to win an award.

Other than the large display gardens, there were also smaller display gardens and competitions. Some of the competitions had themes of window boxes, arbors, table settings, and floral hats (to name just a few). There were also individual plants on display, from orchids to succulents to bonsai. The crowds weren't as thick around these other displays and I enjoyed them just as much, perhaps because they were on a smaller scale and something I was more likely to incorporate into my own garden.

The last area was a huge market selling everything you could imagine that had some relation to a garden theme. There were tools, floral paintings, bulbs, bonsai plants, vases, and just about anything you could think of. I tried to restrain myself, but by the time we left I couldn't carry any more. I had obviously forgotten that I had an hour train ride back to Trenton and then a plane ride back home to Detroit. Amazingly I managed to get it all packed and home with me. Good thing I packed an empty duffel bag "just in case."

If you have never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show I highly recommend that you go one day. Or, if you can't get to this show, attend any of the many other flower shows around the country. These shows are perhaps appreciated more by us northerners who are tired of winter and craving a dose of green plants, fragrant flowers, and the promise that spring is just around the corner.