Philadelphia Flower Show
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The Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual event organized by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March. It is the "largest indoor flower show in the world" [1], and it is the second largest convention held in Philadelphia in terms of number of attendees.
The main attraction at the show is the exhibits, which range in size from garden displays with elaborate landscaping to individual and club entries of a prize horticultural specimen. Each year there is an official theme (2008: Jazz It Up!) which serves as the inspiration for most exhibits. The exhibits are submitted for judging in many categories, some of which are highly competitive.
The competitive classes often have an assigned theme, related to the overall show theme. In 2007, one of the Pressed Plant Material (i.e. dried flower pictures) themes was "..incorporating a Celtic Knot.". The first weekend's Medium Niche theme was Wish You Were Here "Exhibitors will be sent Irish postcards for inspiration. A copy of the postcard will be mounted next to the exhibit." [2] Entrants for that class typically have a mockup of the niche at home, where they practice assembling and lighting their entry in the months preceding the show. In a Challenge class, entrants bring only pruning shears, and must use show-provided materials to interpret a theme within a limited amount of time. [3] Three typical Horticulture classes are 142: Clivia, flowering. Pot 8" or under, 143: Clivia, flowering. Pot 8"-10", and 144: Clivia, foliage. (There was also a Clivia entered in 2007 under Exceptional plants 10-20 years old, to be judged against “perfection” for their species/cultivar.)
A large part of the show floor is devoted to the show merchants, where one can buy plants and seeds, cut flowers, craft items, and other flower, landscaping and horticulture-related items. [4]
There are also many educational presentations and talks related to landscaping and horticulture.
[edit] History
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in 1827 and the nation's first flower show was held in Philadelphia in 1829. It showcased many exotic and native plants. The flower show moved to the now-demolished Civic Center in 1966, where it remained each year until 1996, when it moved to its present location at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. [5]
