Exhibitors to impress show visitors
This year’s theme “Riviera Holiday” naturally sets the bar high for those visiting the show.
PHILADELPHIA» Every year presents a new challenge for designers at the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, being held this year from Feb. 29 to March 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. For new designers, it’s making an impression that will be remembered in the years to come. For returning designers, it’s exceeding the expectations that were set the year before.
This year’s theme “Riviera Holiday” naturally sets the bar high for those visiting the show as the Mediterranean region is renowned globally for both its beautiful horticulture and sustainability.
“This year could be the best year yet,” said Seth Pearsoll, Director of Design for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), the organization charged with leading the 191st Flower Show. Pearsoll and PHS have implemented new policies this year and asked designers to submit their artwork and renderings earlier than in previous years, and designers have seemingly stepped up their game.
“The renderings that I’ve seen for some of these designs mean the exhibits are going to be outstanding,” he said.
Wayward
Wayward, a London-based design group, will feature a “modern lemon grove” with “The Lemonary,” an exhibit sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
According to those at PHS, Wayward is expected to make a gorgeous exhibit but a big part of Wayward’s appeal went further than aesthetics, including their commitment to sustainability. The organization is the Official Reuse Partner of the Royal Horticulture Society, with a “House of Wayward Plants Initiative” that distributes trees and plants from past flower shows to schools and community groups. At least part of their exhibit this year will be reused at the new PHS Pop Up Garden in Manayunk slated to open this spring.
“They’re really good at putting sustainability and reuse front and center, but not in a way that compromises design,” Pearsoll said.
Princess Grace Rose Garden
For those who have a taste for royalty, a featured exhibit this year is the Princess Grace Rose Garden, being sponsored by the Monaco Embassy in Washington, DC. “It’s going to bring a historical element into the Show that we wouldn’t necessarily have within an exhibit,” said Hannah Mullen, PHS Operations Specialist.
PHS partnered with the U.S. Embassy and the Principality of Monaco to create a small-scale replica of the near 10-acre Princess Grace Rose Garden in Monaco inside the walls of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The exhibit will also feature a replica wedding dress that Her Royal Highness Princess Grace wore at her wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956.
The exhibit, created by designer Renee Tucci – an expert designer who was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers in 2016 — will have rose plants named for the Grimaldi family,
fresh-cut garden rose arrangements, and potted roses in all shades of pink..
Princess Grace’s love of flowers was present in many of her hobbies. During America’s bicentennial year in 1976, Princess Grace returned to Philadelphia to be a Flower Show judge. Four years later, she co-authored a book with journalist Gwen Robyns titled “My Book of Flowers,” and she was well-known for her pressed flower artwork later in her life.
“There is a great connection and a great history between Princess Grace and the Flower Show,” said Sam Lemheney, PHS Chief of Shows and Events. “Princess Grace loved flowers and loved roses and we are going to be showcasing that.”
The exhibit is comprised of a variety of roses including a featured rose, the Princess Charlene, named for the princess’s daughter-in-law, who is married to Prince Albert II of Monaco.
“I think [Renee] is going to properly honor Grace Kelly with this exhibit,” Mullen said.
“She was the best person to combine both the beauty of roses as well as the history of Princess Grace Kelly.”
Schaffer Designs
Bill Schaffer and Kristine Kratt of Schaffer Designs will model their exhibition using exquisite flowers from the Cinque Terre, five coastal towns along the Italian Riviera.
Schaffer Designs, entering their fourteenth year as a part of the show, always have a “new and interesting design,” Mullen said. “They’re really doing one that I think is going to blow people’s minds. He’s always thinking outside the box. He never does something that you expect and he really tries to involve other designers into his exhibit, which I think is really cool.”
She added that Schaffer will have about 20 volunteers from all over the world helping set up the exhibit.
The duo is also “Floral Fundamental Ambassadors,” bringing their horticultural designs to inspire people worldwide.
Behind-the-scenes
Visitors attending the Philadelphia Flower Show should look out for the designers who can be identified with badges and typically stand by their exhibits, according to Mullen.
“Keep an eye out, you never know who’s going to show up,” Mullen said.
Aspiring horticulturalists and flower enthusiasts alike will get the chance to talk to the designers about their exhibits, where their inspiration comes from, and how it all comes together.
“I know everyone comes in and is amazed at what the show looks like, but I think they really underestimate how quickly the show is built,” she said.
Planning the move and build of the show is extensive, with weeks and months of logistics as everything must be laid out beforehand. Exhibitors
craft their designs, choose their plants, and make sure they bloom just in time for the show. This is done by forcing, or getting plants to grow out of season.
“The whole art of forcing is a blend of science and wizardry,” Pearsoll said.
Once the timing is just right, volunteers, landscaping crews, and exhibitors work tirelessly to assemble their respective spaces with mounds of soil and thousands of plants.
“It takes a village for each of the exhibits,” Mullen said.
Exhibitors come back night after night and often work well into the early morning hours during the show to check up on the plants, ensuring the quality of the exhibit stays consistent throughout the week.
“They’re coming back time and time again to make sure it’s just as beautiful for the visitor who comes on the first day versus the one who comes on the last day,” Mullen said.