Best in Show
Wanted to share a few of my favorite observations from last week's Philadelphia Flower Show. With the theme of this year's show centered on Britain, the exhibitions and arrangements celebrated our gardening friends across the pond. The displayed planting schemes ranged from grand to cottage. Many of these displays, produced by local gardening clubs and landscape companies, used plant material traditional in English gardens. With a similar temperate climate, many of these plantings would work great in my Hamptons garden.
But there was more than just landscape inspiration. There were some very clever decorative projects as well. And with an adjacent marketplace of plants, tools and garden-themed decorations for sale, this was quite a fun excursion.
Pressed flower art celebrated the show's British theme
A larger Big Ben dominated the center hall, changing to a music video display on the hour
A "kitchen garden" display
The formal English garden style you might find at Downton Abbey
A floral setting fit for a king (or at least Sir Elton John)
Good things come in small packages—a 70-year-old cypress bonsai
A clematis display; love the way the vine is climbing through and decorating a simple pine
This is a whimsical idea that I'm bringing home: ceramic fish swimming through the perennials
Clever sculpture idea; notice too the wall of vegetables