Philly finale

March 15th, 2011

A few more thoughts on last week’s Philadelphia Flower Show before moving on…

1.) You might’ve heard about the protest that marred the PNC Bank exhibit last Wednesday – a first for the show. A group of about nine locked hands around the sponsoring bank’s green-wall display and chanted about “environmental crimes” and the bank investing in a mountain-destroying, coal-extraction practice.

I seldom sympathize with big banks, but I have to say this was the wrong time and place for that kind of media shenanigan. Personally, I don’t base story coverage on the outrageousness of an event but on the scope, relative importance and validity of an issue.

The protest apparently was perfectly legal. With police and security officers ringing the whole thing, it certainly didn’t do much for the peaceful beauty and creative design that people paid $25 a ticket to see.

I just hope other groups don’t play copycat. Really, someone could protest just about everything, from the landscapers showing off non-native plants to the fertilizer company selling bay-polluting phosphorus-containing products to the potting-mix vendor selling non-renewable peat moss.

Can’t we keep at least one place free of all the yelling, rage and disagreement these days?

2.) One of the other quirky moments this year was when a show-goer stumbled into MODA Botanica’s elegant display of roses aligned in several large concentric circles. The bump caused the vases to fall like dominoes.

Show designer Sam Lemheney said it actually turned into a plus as the crowds enjoyed watching the MODA folks rebuild the display before their eyes.

Oddly enough, the same thing happened two days later when someone else fell into it.

That’s probably another show first – a display built three different times.

3.) If you’re already looking ahead to next year, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society last week announced that next year’s Philadelphia Flower Show will carry the theme “Islands of Aloha” (that would be Hawaii).

Lemheney says the goal will be to “try and recreate the sense of awe people get when they visit Hawaii.”

That’ll mean mountain vistas, island backdrops, waterfalls, lava and lots and lots of colorful, lush tropical vegetation. New Jersey’s Waldor Orchids will be the lead landscape builder.

“We’re going to be doing something with rainbows, too,” Lemheney added. “We’re not exactly sure what yet, though.”

Hawaiian hula dancers, story-tellers and crafts people also will demonstrate throughout the show.

The dates: March 3-11, 2012. I’ll no doubt be taking at least three different busloads down to see it. We talk show strategy, give away prizes (including five $25 Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill gift cards) and play garden quiz on the way down. Hit the “Talks and Trips” button in the top toolbar next winter when details are ready.