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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Philadelphia Flower Show 2010 - Passport to the World


I have to say before we begin that I wasn't wild about this theme. I think it was so broad that we didn't get to see different ways that the exhibitors interpreted an idea. Instead we went, well, all over the world.

floral hot air balloon

The first thing you saw when you entered the hall was this huge hot air balloon that was covered with dried flowers. The oceans were pansy petals and the continents were roses. Over 80000 flowers were used. Of course the picture I took that showed it better didn't focus, so you will have to settle for the South Pacific. You can catch a tiny bit of Hawaii in pink on the right.

Chinese pagoda

Today I'll just show some obviously international themes, and will focus on details in the days to follow. Here is a Chinese depiction which was one of my favorites.

USA flag in flowers

This was actually a very difficult display to see. I held the camera way up high to get this shot of the United States flag done all in flowers. I'm not sure why they did it like this. I think people would have appreciated it more if it were upright. It looks too much like a casket this way, and it was all in a glass case so you couldn't get near enough to see the beautiful detail of the arrangement.

Indian wedding

This setting was arranged for an Indian wedding. Since my friends have recently been to three of them, my understanding is that this was very authentic looking.

African mannekins

I have no idea how authentic looking any of this African display really is, but it was one of the most popular exhibits at the show. I'll have a lot of detail to share from this one in coming days.

I didn't even see all the exhibits. Marie's cousin Maggie and I share a love of succulent plants, and the Philadelphia show has an amazing assortment of kinds both on display and entered in the contests. We pretty much overdosed on them. No regrets, though, about the parts I missed; it was a great day! Tomorrow: closeups of textures.


See Philadelphia Flower Show 2009 - 1


5 comments:

rainfield61 said...

I wonder what it is before getting to know it is a ballon.

I can't stop laughing on the United States flag which looks like a casket.

Rick (Ratty) said...

It all makes me think of a circus with its bright colors everywhere. After reading Rainfield's comment about the flag, I think I agree. It puts me in mind of a soldier's casket with a flag draped over it.

Ann said...

I was thinking the same thing as Ratty, The displays are all very pretty. I can remember as a child going to a flower show every year with my parents that was in Cleveland.

Sharkbytes said...

Hi rainfield- Well, I think it was just a big helium balloon under the dried flowers. It didn't seem to be suspended or mounted, but I'll admit that I didn't take the time to really study its mechanics.

Ratty- Well, I guess you might liken the show to a subdued circus. With this international theme, maybe even more so. I have a day of animals planned!

Ann- I did not know that Cleveland has one. I've been to several cities' shows, but not there.

To all my faithful readers- I will get back to reading your blogs soon. It has proven to be quite difficult to find the time on this trip. I do thank you for coming by.

Sharkbytes said...

Rainfield- I've decided that the ropes were really stiffened with rods to hold up a regular air balloon.