Philadelphia Flower Show - Sweatpants Not Included

Each year, there is at least one competition which gives the entrants a space which is supposed to represent a certain type of room, and they are to interpret the theme with plants and various accouterments. For example, in 2019 the contest was an 'interiorscape,' showing any interior room of a house.

This year the intent was to create a "home office oasis for plant lovers that makes working fun." The name was Sweatpants Not Included.

Two entries tied for 2nd place, with no 3rd place ribbon awarded. I'll show you those first.

This is called "Aloha from the Mainland." Intent: "My mainland office has transformed into an island oasis."

The judges said, "the quality and diversity" of plants executed the category statement well, but they wanted the rug to fit the space better- they did not like how it overlapped the edge of the platform.

The other second place winner is my favorite. It's called "A Wet Suit Required." Intent: "The sailing ship is the oceanographer's home."

The judges said it was creative and they liked the warmth of the space. In this case, they thought there was too much diversity of plant material. (I basically think you can never make the judges happy.)

I'm going to show you the opposite corner of the same "room." I really thought they did a great job of using land plants to mimic a bed of seaweed.

Now for fourth place. This one was clearly not as good, but it was created by high school students: "Play is Work is Play." The Intent is: "When you are a child, is there really a distinction?"

The judges said it was innovative and unique, but there wasn't good balance.

Here's the one the judges liked and gave the blue ribbon, "Unlocking the Secrets of Plants." Intent: "The plants' intricacies and variations captivate her, inspiring continued inquiry."

The judges used words like "quality," "fun and cozy." They thought it captured the home work environment.

It's nice, but probably too formal for me. Not to mention pink and purple.

In other news: I spent the day cleaning out Sunny and repacking him. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and I wanted to get as much of that done on a nice day as possible.

I'm not sure I learned anything worth repeating. I couldn't sleep last night and spent the hours trying out the Draft2Digital print option. I learned that it's more expensive than KDP Amazon. But anyway, I now have an account, and I ordered a couple of copies to see how the quality compares. I signed up for Reading Rocks in Rockford which is all about children's books. I did errands. I learned (noted) that Sunny is no longer new. That's OK, because he's been well used and loved in the process, but it seems so recently that I was celebrating the pristine flooring and how well each of the parts fit together. Now, this summer, I'll need to do some repairs and re-fitting of some parts.

See This Year's Heuchera