Rooted- Who Got it Right?

Tonight, I'm going to rant a little bit about the interpretation of the Philadelphia Flower Show theme for this year. As a reminder, it was "Rooted: Origins of Gardening in America." Basically, one exhibit got it right and a couple were marginal. Several talked a bit about the roots of culture, a few more did decorative things with roots or root-like shapes (the entrance garden). Most totally ignored it.

So, Mercer County Community College Horticulture and Plant Science Program nailed it, but the exhibit didn't get a lot of attention because it wasn't particularly showy. Basically, Mercer highlighted the contribuitions of three people/entities to gardening in the New World.

The plants in this picture are: spicebush, sycamore, winterberry, aromatic sumac, and pin oak- all nice native ornamentals, so I would guess they were used by one or more of these horticulturists, or maybe the school. but there wasn't enough interpretation.

The three historical figures are Peter Henderson, 1822-1890. He pioneered the use of greenhouses and developed varieties of plants to grow in the North American climate. Bush Lima Beans and Pink Ponderosa tomatoes are still being grown today.

William Roberts, 1932-2020, of Rutgers University; in 1964 he invented the double-layer polyethylene greenhouse which dramatically reduced the costs associated with glass greenhouses.

Princeton Nurseries and three generations of the Flemer family, 1913-2010, ran one of the most successful plant nurseries ever operated in the United States. They developed the Snow Queen hydrangea, Princeton Sentry Ginkgo, and Greenspire Linden.

As part of this display these white peonies were blooming, but I don't know if they were a variety one of these people developed, although that would be my guess.

This is the Princeton Sentry Ginkgo, so that's cool. Ginkgo is one of the oldest still-viable trees on the planet.

At the corner of the display they did have a colorful produce stand.

Overall the exhibitors get an F from me for development of the assigned theme. There wasn't a single one that talked in any but the most superficial way about what roots do for the plant, or different kinds of roots, or the relationships with fungi. There wasn't anyone who mentioned parasitic plants that live on roots. There was only one passing mention of the "three sisters" of native tribes contributing to American gardening. I can think of a display from 2023 that fit the theme better than most this year!

That is not to say there is not a lot of beauty to share. Stay tuned for more colorful things and I promise not to rant much more.

I had a fairly laid-back day. We did a pile of Marie's errands, so she (not I) had the stress of that which included shopping (not a favorite of either of us). We walked in the mall, we visited Selma (who isn't doing so well), we cooked dinner and played our game.

Miles walked in 2026: 64.2

Indoor mall walking- 3 miles.

See Rooted

Goodbye Philadelphia in the Rain

It was a good day to spend in the car, and that filled most of the day. David waves us off from his doorstep.

We did begin with something very nice. Rachel had to go to work, but David and Marie...

... and Carmen and I went out to breakfast. Carmen is a long-time friend of Dave and Rachel, and I've known her for probably 10 years, but I guess she hasn't made it on the blog before.

Just a few more images of Philadelphia from yesterday. Philly has hundreds of murals. (Nope, I just looked it up- they have 4000-5000 and it is known as the mural capital of the world.) Here's one. A lot of them are really amazing, but I can't catch photos from the moving car. Maybe some trip I'll try to do a better job with pictures of murals.

And if this doesn't say Philadelphia to you, I can't make it any better. This is a straight-on view of City Hall with the statue of William Penn on the top.

And an attempt to catch a side view on a different street.

It rained ALL day, turning to slush as we got back to Marie's. But tomorrow is another day!

See Rooted

Rooted

The theme of this year's Philadelphia Flower Show is "Rooted: Origins of American Gardening." I was afraid the exhibitors were going to have trouble with this one, and they sure did, but more about that another day.

Today I'll just show you the main entrance which is always supposed to be the spectacular first glimpse. That said, It's impossible to show it without a lot of people in the way. The Philadelphia Horticultural Society does the entrahce garden. I'm not sure what this has to do with roots. I even watched a video about it, and it talks about complexity and layers and textures, but not roots except that the framework for the flowers is supposed to look like roots.

However, it was packed with color and plant material. This section will really make you hanker after spring.

Most of the entrance stuff was red to purple, some with the aid of lighting.

Here's a closer view of one of those "roots" that are decorated with dense plant material.

And where the flowers and the lighting intersected things got interesting.

We stayed for 6 hours. I missed some things I usually try to visit, but we all ran out of steam. As usual, I'll continue to intermingle Flower Show blog posts with other things of interest that happened until I run out of things to show.

I have no idea how far I walked. It always has to be quite a lot, but it doesn't get counted. I think a mile just to get from where we could park to the convention center and back, not counting looking at exhibits.

See Gardens of the Future

Trinity Memorial

We tried to keep today restful again because tomorrow is the Flower Show! We walked to church. It's been a lot of years since I've been to David's church. He goes to Trinity Memorial Episcopal.

Apparently, I've never put any pictures from his church on the blog. These paintings are along the front wall. The sayings translate to things like "We praise you, O God," "Glory in the Highest," "Oh, be Joyful."

And this is the stained glass window above them which is Jesus as the Good Shepherd in the center. The rest are just designs.

They currently have a supply pastor, which means they probably don't get to keep her. Pretty much everyone is sad about that because she is very good.

I got a lot out of the service. The special music was great- John Steiner's "God So Loved the World." I knew half of the songs that were sung. The people were really friendly. The way they do communion is that everyone comes up and kneels at the altar rail.

Things were just enough unfamiliar to me that it kept me alert and thinking about it all. The sermon was excellent.

They serve lunch afterwards, so we got to talk to a number of people (and enjoy some really good food). This pastor is Hawaiian, and she was as interesting to chat with as she was to listen to.

I really like a lot of things about the church. There is a mixture of all "colors" of people. The pianist is a blind man. They are pet friendly- several people bring their dogs to church. No one had to prove the animal was an emotional support pet. There was a lot of smiling. The time to "share peace" went on for enough minutes you could greet more than the two people on each side of you.

The rest of the day featured games and another movie in the evening. Marie and I walked to church. David drives and picks up two handicapped people so they can attend.

Miles walked in 2026: 61.2

Streets from home to church and back 1.0 mile

See Schuylkill Banks

Schuylkill Banks - a New Direction

Today I learned that the riverwalk along the Schuylkill River in Philly is actually called Schuylkill Banks. A new section opened in the last year.

This section took so long to complete because it needed a bridge. They built one of those suspension bridges where the cables are all connected to one post.

Got a nicer picture of the skyline.

You might notice the older railroad bridge in the foreground. It's still in use!

Marie, Dave and I took this nice walk, but Rachel had to work. The afternoon was more relaxing with a few household tasks and some visiting. I even crocheted a bit. In the evening we watched a Miss Marple movie.

I traded the white puppy of a couple days ago for Casper the white cat. With only four of us in the house instead of six or more, Casper is much more calm. He's never disliked me, but he's been more than happy to be my friend on this visit.

Miles walked in 2026: 60.2

Schuylkill Banks riverwalk, David's house via South St to Wharton Ave and back. 4.1 miles.

See Philadelphia Riverwalk