Philadelphia Flower Show- Good Friends Enter Here

  This is another of my very favorite categories in the Standard Flower Show portion of the PFS. There are usually various permutations of it... maybe a front entryway, a deck, patio, or a front porch... but some space that is associated directly with a home. The link at the end is from the 2019 category which was front entryways.

The title of this year's was "Good Friends Enter Here" and it was to be a backyard entrance and had to include at least one design element constructed of recycled or repurposed materials. These spaces are always small enough that I feel like creating something like this would actually be possible.

This one took fourth place. Unfortunately my photo with the information is so out of focus that I can't read anything except the title which is "Backyard Memories."

My own judgely comments would be that the house wall is one-dimensional, and the gardens themselves are also quite static. I don't even feel that anyone would play with the toys. And, what is repurposed? Are the Jenga blocks made from scrap wood, the fake stone wall from recycled plastic. It's not very clear?

Third place is called "The Enchanted Garden," and although it only got yellow in the category, it took a Philadelphia Horticultural Society ribbon for "outstanding use of herbs."

The intent (you know these are much longer- I'm distilling some of the verbiage) says, "Inside the garden wall, young friends gather... to imagine, explore, and plan for their future gardens."

The judges said, "Delightful theme, and exceptional use of natural materials." But they thought there were too many fairy houses that detracted. Well, you can easily see how something like this outshines the fourth place entry! You can easily imagine the children scurrying around to all the play places

Second place is called "The Gifted Gardner." The intent says "Potting up plants for friends and neighbors, she is reminded of the gifts the garden brings each day." The judges said "the use of white is effective and authenticity was consistent... a wonderful snapshot of spring."

I'm going to show you two pictures of this so you can see the front corner by the bench. Also, you can see how attractive and multi-layered the back wall of the house is. This reminds me of my friend Margaret's back yard.

Where do we go from the previous two entries, which are both extremely nice? Here is first place, "S'more Time with Friends." The intent says, "Nestled in the shady woods of the Pocono Mountains... fishing and hiking... Our evenings are spent gathered around the fire."

The judges said "exceptional attention to detail. Intent was executed throughout the display."

I have to share several pictures of this one! Don't you just want to go visit the cabin?

Love the candle lantern- about the only change I'd suggest in this exhibit is that the lantern maybe should have been on a post or hung to add some height to that corner.

And they didn't neglect the "fire" on which to roast the marshmallows. Pretty good recreation of a natural environment with some enhancements, eh?

Here's an interesting factoid. All but the Enchanted Garden were created by high schoolers!

I buckled down and did a fair amount of work today. I also walked for errands with 17 pounds, 2.5 miles. Easy peasy- not tired or sore. Next, I up the weight a bit.

Miles hiked in 2025: 93.5

About all that's happening here in relation to spring is that the buds on the silver maple trees are swelling.

See PFS 2019- Entryways See PFS 2019- Balconies