Philadelphia Flower Show - Immersed

I'm going to spend the time tonight to show you my other favorite display from the Philadelphia Flower Show. The name of the exhibit was "Immersed," and it was created by the American Institute of Floral Designers. The amount of plant material involved and the design components were astonishing. Each color display was created by a different member florist of the institute, so it's like ten exhibitors in one. The results were... you will see.

The introduction says things like, "lose yourself in color," "feel, think, and react," "immerse yourself in the color, the flow, and the design."

The exhibit was a walk-through color wheel. Each color had its own interpretive panel as well. I'll include a little bit of what was on those signs.

Around the top border of the entire traffic loop was a fringe of black and white. "Black: the color of power and sophistication. Black is strong and intimidating. White: the color of purity and innocence. White is a true balance of all colors."

Brown- I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this one from the other side, but it was intricate and interesting. I think this overview picture doesn't show the details very well. "Brown: the color of stability and reliability. Brown is dependable and comforting." The strings of "lobster-claw" seed pods are as interesting as the flowers themselves, and if you study this display there's a lot of design in it- it's not just a bunch of dead stuff stuck into a base.

Red- Red is one of my least favorite colors, but I have to say that I took more pictures of the red display than any other color. I will probably eventually share another part of it on the blog, but I'll stick with one photo for now. There was a lot of textural interest, and they must have hunted to find the various red plants that matched each other in tone so well (unless they dyed some of it). Of course there are roses, and those long strings are an Amaranth, Amaranthus caudatus, usually called "love lies bleeding."

"Red: the color of passion and energy. Red draws attention like no other color."

Pink. Probably my least favorite color in the whole world, but the display was gorgeous. "Pink: the color of love and compassion. Pink is kind and comforting." Well, I know that's how it makes a lot of people feel. Pink just makes me nervous.

Orange is a somewhat unusual color in flowers. I thought it was interesting that they went with a sort of safety industrial theme with it. Also, there are a number of orange flowers that are deeper toned than the ones they used. "Orange: the color of enthusiasm and emotion. Orange exudes warmth and joy."

Yellow is up near the top of my favorite colors. I liked how different this display was- atomic and jumping with energy. "Yellow: the color of happiness and optimism. Yellow is cheerful and energetic." The primary plant featured is Craspedia, an Australian plant commonly called "billy-buttons." Just think about the amount of intercontinental and transcontinental commerce that goes into collecting all the plant material for this show. I had to make a composite picture to get this entire display in one frame, so that's why the side images aren't registered quite right.

"Green: the color of harmony and health. Green is a generous, relaxing color." This display relies a lot on variations in shades of green and a great range of textures. It almost looks like a single plant until you start looking more closely.

Although blue is my favorite color, this display was my least favorite in the exhibit. That's mostly because of the difficulty with blue flowers that I blogged about on a different day. Most of the blue color in this comes from blue lighting. Nevertheless, "Blue: the color of trust and loyalty. Blue has a calming and relaxing effect on our psyche." The primary plant is baby's breath.

I'm not sure why they stuck turquoise in there, but it was a nice display, primarily of Protea. However, I'm pretty sure all the plant material is dyed. "Turquoise: the color of calmness and clarity. Turquoise stabilizes emotions and increases empathy." I'm also not sure about that description, but... somebody probably said those things, sometime. They also referred to the waters of the Caribbean, although Proteus comes from Hawaii and I doubt anything else there is Caribbean. Now I'm just being nit-picky.

And finally, purple, although not a deep purple. Marie liked this one a lot. "Purple: the color of spirituality and imagination. Purple inspires us to divulge our innermost thoughts." (really?) Anyway, the contrast of the constructed towers with the languid drapes of orchids was interesting.

And one more picture, this one from today. I got in the mood to have pancakes. Let me say that I never order pancakes in a restaurant. Apparently my definition is different from most of the rest of the food world. I like mine thin, not all fluffy and bready. This is my mom's recipe, from an old cookbook. She and our family have been cooking and eating these for probably 90 years. I believe the cookbook was one of her texts at Temple where she studied Home Economics. They were served with maple syrup, a gift from Julie Dahlberg while on my hike.

Speaking of the hike, tomorrow night is the last one I'll be home for a while again. I have really mixed feelings. 450 miles feels like nothing at all to face. On the other hand, a big piece of me wants to stay home and continue on the many projects I'm in the middle of. I'm still uncertain about the 105 miles in the western UP. It's under 30+ inches of snow right now. I may have to wait till June to hike that. I DON'T want to still be working on this hike that late, but I may have no choice. Lots of my body parts still hurt. I don't think I can immediately jump to 15 miles a day.

I kept my promise to myself to read all I want. I've read 70 books since January 1 (a lot of them fiction and fast, but still...). But I'm not tired of non-stop reading. I will be able to read some in the evenings, but not up to that level!

There are still lots of neat things from the Flower Show. You may see one more post tomorrow, but then I'll again focus on where I'm hiking. Maybe I'll share a few things in the future, maybe not. That's why I wanted to be sure to do this major post tonight.

See PFS- Sweatpants Not Included

Philadelphia Flower Show 2020 - Curves

 
There are always Standard Flower Show entries as part of the Philadelphia Flower Show. You may recall that I like some of these more than others. I particularly enjoy the arrangements in a small niche. The theme of this one was "Curves," and there were four entries. I've kept the pictures square because the niche is square, although a little taller.

This is the blue ribbon winner. The plant material used is Crape Myrtle, Devil's Claw, Mustard seed, and Pokeweed. The Judges said, "Daring choice of jewel-like colors, excellently executed."



Second place went to this one. Plants used are Crape Myrtle and Grevillea (silky oak- a southern species- the tan leafy portion). The judges said, "Bold design of dynamic color and textures successfully interprets the theme. Placement of design within the nice disturbs the balance."



The other two entries each received a yellow ribbon. Here is one of them. Materials are Crape Myrtle and Devil's Claw. The judges said, "A pleasing rhythmic design due to well-chosen materials and presentation. Size of design is not in proportion to space allowed."



And here is the fourth one. Plants materials are Anise Seed (the red stars), Brunia (the balls), Devil's Claw, and Sea Oats. The judges said, "An enchanting, subtle contrast of colors. The orientation of anise seed disturbs the rhythm."



You can tell that the judging has to be rather brutal to choose a winner. Which one do you like? I agree with the choices (not always the case). I wanted to give that last one a higher place but had to agree that the dark red "petals" aren't arranged well.

In other news: I was almost a complete slug today. I was tired. I wrote an article for Mason County Press, tried to talk myself into being more productive, and read a book.

See Le Strade Cinque Terre See A similar exhibit from 2012

3 Mile Loop Challenge

 
I set myself a challenge today to try to find something a little different to picture on my same-old three mile roadwalk. I took some nice pictures of ordinary wild flowers. Maybe you'll see some of them another day. But you've seen them all before, other years.

But today's fun surprise is the dried leaves clinging to the stems of the Cut-leaf Teasel, Dipsacus laciniatus.

I'm sure not going to try to find something for Halloween every day this month, but they are sort of eerie-creepy-fantasy Halloween worthy.

This one is my favorite.

And, the camera wouldn't focus on them, but there were a couple of big turtles out in the little pond.



I was pretty much a slug this morning, so while I was walking I bawled myself out and decided I could make myself do 10 mini projects before bed. I've done 8 so far. Hopefully, I'll do two more.

1. Clean up the recycling bottles and cans
2. Cut the autumn olive by the kitchen door
3. Cut the grapevine by the window
4. Deal with the compost
5. Get gas in the car and the can
6. Bring in a big load of stuff from the trailer
7. Bring in a big load of stuff from the trailer
8. Take care of all the clean laundry

I did do two more:
9. Put away one tub full of odd stuff from the trailer
10. Put away the books we took with us on the trip

	See Cut Leaf Teasel
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Upper Enfield Glen

 
I'm taking you back to a few days ago with some pictures of Upper Enfield Glen in New York. The trails to the most spectacular of the waterfalls is closed for the winter, but this falls is visible from the parking area. They consider it so ho-hum, it doesn't even have a name.



I liked how the snow and moss and ferns were clinging to the rock walls.



This also unnamed falls is on a tributary, Fish Kill Creek. That funny "hood" is an ice cover that formed when the temps were so low and then partially washed away leaving a bridge.



There was a hamlet here, formed around a mill. When I was a kid, the mill wheel was still in place. It's now been removed but most of the gears are still there and visible.



And this mill stone is a study in shapes and tones.



Let's not talk about today's author event. See you tomorrow. I'll be on the move again. Back with Marie.

	See Elaine and Carcassonne
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Dow Gardens- Branches

 
One of the interesting aspects of Dow Gardens that sets it apart from some others is that it was planned with heavy emphasis on trees. This leads to a couple of unusual features. The one I'm sharing today is interesting branches.

There's not much rhyme or reason to my choice of pictures. They are simply views I liked where the picture turned out reasonably well.



There were lots and lots of these trees that grow in a widely spreading clump/cluster. I never did find a label for what they are (lots of exotic species in here), and I suspect they may have been pruned when young to emphasize the growth pattern. But they create peek-a-boo views from one section to another that are appealing. You can't quite tell in the photo what is beyond, but it is a waterfall.



Next up is a bronze beech. These have all the loveliness of a regular beech, but the leaves stay dark purple-bronze all summer.


I liked this hint of the rocks at pond edge and the bridge through the abstract shape formed by the branches in this one.



And this branch hanging over a grassy space seems impossibly long



Finally, although you could argue that this picture is more about the rocks, I like the contract between the roundness of those rocks and the lines of the branches.



In other news: I'm spending the day with some trail friends and will be heading to Interlochen Fine Arts Camp tomorrow. Stay tuned.

	See Dow Gardens- Just Getting Started
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What's Your Angle?

 
It seemed to me that there haven't been many posts recently about things outdoors, so today I went for a little walk (in the rain), and gave myself a simple photo assignment. I decided to look for angles. The results you see are presented in the order I took the pictures. If you can find meaning in that, more power to you!

Of course, the first thing that pops to mind in the outdoors when one says "angle," is tree limbs. I forced myself to be limited to one such picture. Here's my choice... lichen covered dead sumac branches.



Next, I found three autumn olive leaves plastered together by the wind and rain. The fact that one was back-side showing gave the composition some color interest, and I liked the angles between the points. That rotten plant might as well be good for something, even if it's only an interesting picture.



Beetle bark galleries oddly echo the same pattern as the tree branches!



And there I was at the railroad tracks, with their parallel straight (180 degree) angles.



Angles galore at the space station (AKA grain elevator).



The best two finds were last. I'd never noticed these before. There are some old slabs of concrete that were dumped at the back of a neighboring property. On what was previously the underside, you can see the impression of large equipment tracks left in the dirt before the concrete was poured. Although it softens the impression of the angles, I especially like the encroaching moss on the right. One can almost see those tracks as huge dike or elevated highways with whole neighborhoods of green trees and rooftops in the valleys.



On the next hunk of man-made stone were more tracks with a different tire pattern. These certainly have angles!



So I got a little wet, but I got a little exercise, and although none of these is high-quality art, it was fun setting an assignment and doing it.

	See Crosshatched
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Arts Barn Impressions

 
I spent the afternoon getting in some hours at the Shagway Arts Barn. Each artist is supposed to volunteer a certain amount of time. It was a very quiet afternoon. I made one sale.

Part of that was because it was pretty cold, and I don't think a lot of people were out and about. It was also the last day the Barn was open for this season.

I spent most of the time writing or jogging around the building to try to keep warm.

Apparently just being around so much art makes me feel artsy. Here are some impressions taken today.















Over the summer, I sold 11 books and seven craft items there. I just don't seem to be able to make things that people want to buy. I need to remember to focus on writing! Speaking of...

Accountability Report:
I wrote two chapters in Dead Mule Swamp Druggist today! I would like to tell you I'm two chapters closer to the finish. However, I had thought that what I wrote today would fill only one chapter, so I'm really no closer to the end. I'm putting off that total commitment one more day. We'll see how productive I can be tomorrow. Unfortunately, I can't write all day. I have some other things to do, too.

	See Smilin' In the Rain
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