Entries to Win Afghan

Sign up to receive the Books Leaving Footprints Newsletter. Comes out occasionally. No spam. No list swapping. Just email me! jhyshark@gmail.com Previous gifts include a short story, a poem, and coupons. Add your name, and don't miss out!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Philadelphia Flower Show 2009-I




Here we go! The flower show was really wonderful. I promised you overload on green things, and I plan to deliver for the next few days. The theme of this year's show was Bella Italia, and the entranceway was decorated in classic formal Italian garden fashion.



But things did not remain all formal. They ranged through traditional spring gardens, casual, bizarre, themed, and all of the judged horticultural show kinds of things. Today I'll just show a few traditional things. Next up is from a series of judged displays on the theme of outdoor eating places. The colors grabbed my eye on this one. It's interesting to read what the judges say about their choices for the ribbons. We don't always agree with them! I don't remember if this one won its class, but I like it.



There were plenty of displays of spring gardens filled with blooms for those of us who just need a good garden fix in these late days of winter. And the East Coast got snow dumped on it today too. Philly got a few inches, enough to close school, so we had the girls with us all day. But they were very good. We took turns keeping track of them, and there was a family play area where their Dad took them for a couple of hours too, so everyone had a great time smelling the roses. Literally!



I will end today's pictures with another of the themed contest entries. This one was for a front porch. There was a row of six lovely porches and small front yards all decorated with plants. Each one was very different. This actually wasn't my favorite (really, who could choose an absolute favorite?) but the picture came out well, so I'll show this one.



I hope you like these. It's fun to share it all with you. Tomorrow I'll show you some of the more unusual horticultural displays.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't been able to get to a flower show in years, but this has really made me feel I should see if there is one on soon. Beautiful pictures, and it makes you feel spring and summer can't be too far away. I find it fascinating how they manage to get plants into flower at the same time.

Joe Todd said...

Thanks for the pictures.. Spring is on the way.. Did you get caught in snow storm????

Rick (Ratty) said...

I don't know much about flowers, but I like to see the colors. You're right about favorites. It's hard to choose a favorite picture here. Each time I study a different one, I choose that one.

Angel said...

Beautiful flowers! Must have been a fun time.

Sharkbytes said...

A- Yes, do try to find someplace to get a plant "fix." Of course the big shows are stupendous, but even a small one is sure to be filled with the smell of hyacinth and bright tulip, daffodil, and other colors. What I found most amazing was all the succulents that they managed to force to bloom for the show. Those are really hard to predict their blooming. I'm showing succulents tomorrow.

Joe- Philly got several inches which really slows it down because they are not plowing at all this year to save money. I guess the rest of the East did not get it as bad as was predicted.

Ratty- I like to try to take some of the pictures so that they look like a real garden outside. I'm partial to those, but then I like the closeups of the odd things too.

Angel- It was SO wonderful. I am home and energized. Nice to share with everyone.

betchai said...

wow, am not very fond of flower arrangement, but the third picture really caught my eye, the arrangement is just spectacular. the sunflower and anthuriums are one of my favorite flowers. the picture that follows after that, the mix of yellow and purple are superb too. yes, it is hard to choose a favorite in this batch.