Event is back indoors with ‘The Garden Electric’
Opens Saturday at convention center after 2 summers outside
PHILADELPHIA » After two years outdoors, the Philadelphia Flower Show is back indoors, with a new look, new theme and new vendors for a show unlike any before.
“This year, we’re working hard to create a cohesive and fully immersive experience for our Flower Show attendees,” said Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Creative Director Seth Pearsoll. “Design choices are intentionally being made to mimic the feel of being outdoors in nature by creating larger displays that surround guests, and our lineup of exhibitors is incredible.”
The show, “The Garden Electric,” will run from Saturday through March 12 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St., Philadelphia.
Tickets are on sale at tickets.phsonline.org, and the show will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 4, 10 and 11; from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 5-9, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 12.
Five new design concepts will be featured in the major exhibitions, showcasing large-scale gardens over 900 square feet. The theme, “The Garden Electric,” will be visible to visitors as soon as they arrive.
“The Entrance Garden design this year will create a sense of mystery and intrigue with its rounded, transparent, mesh scrim that offers a fragrant hint of the opulent and lush floral world awaiting within. The silhouetted plants and flowers on the exterior of the space will invite curious guests inward, through a grey hued entrance,” said the PHS in a statement announcing the show’s theme.
“Once inside, guests will experience a jolt of floral magic that celebrates that unique feeling of awe, excitement, and celebration that one experiences when encountering majestic beauty. By using a mesh scrim to conceal and encapsulate the space, guests are enveloped in a 360-degree world of unique floral pairings, textures, light, fragrance and vibrant colors; creating an immersive, sensory experience that captures the feeling of ‘The Garden Electric.'”
For the first time, designers have been invited to create gardens from 2,200 to 2,900 square feet, larger than any ever seen at a show and meant to evoke the feeling of the 2021 and ’22 shows held outdoors.
Winding promenade
In its return indoors, and for the first time, the show will adopt the concept of a winding promenade, according to PHS; the guided path is a departure from how all previous shows have been laid out, creating a lush, self-guided experience for guests to view and engage with stunning gardens and flowers up close.
“Every exhibitor is creating a unique, spectacular interpretation of the ‘Garden Electric’ theme, filled with bold color and interesting design elements that will really captivate our guests while the promenade-style path ensures that all visitors can closely enjoy these stunning works of art,” Pearsoll said.
Exhibitors will place special emphasis on representation of garden and landscape designers of varied backgrounds, experiences and specialties, offering them a platform to make their unique artistic voices heard.
The 2023 show will also feature design categories for highly skilled, non-professionals, including several competitive categories such as windowsill decoration, doorway decoration, miniature floral design, floral arrangements, pressed plants, botanical jewelry and more.
The centerpiece of the show will be the PHS Hamilton Horticourt, returning this year in a new, central location within the show’s layout, allowing attendees to easily peruse the myriad of award-winning plants and flowers entered into PHS’s competitive classes.