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Philly Flower Show 2025

Click to enlarge images

As you enter this year's show, you're instantly transported to the future, fitting perfectly with this year's theme, "Gardens of Tomorrow."  The entrance garden, "Future Florentia," was designed by PHS artists, and as Flower Show creative director Seth Pearsoll explains, the show "is a celebration of innovation, resilience, and creativity in gardening."

Some of my favorites from the show:

Tomorrow's Eden is a collaboration between Japanese garden designers Kazuyuki Ishihara and Iftikhar Ahmed of Treeline Designz. It's a two-tiered garden with waterfall and other natural features, and the designers say it's a landscape that "embodies two powerful truths: the boundless resilience of nature and the fragile responsibility humanity holds in preserving it." You'll definitely want to take a good look at this garden from both the front and the back to appreciate all of its elements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most popular exhibits, Welcoming Wildlife Home by Jennifer Designs, explores the role of wildlife in a thriving ecosystem.  The animals seated at the table represent human interaction with nature, and the surrounding plants are those that particularly support various species. 

I was also struck by the Signature of Time by Mark Cook Landscaping, whose exhibit represents "a life of journeys and experiences shared through architecture, color, texture, and plants from multiple time zones.

There is, of course, much more to the show than landscape exhibits, so head over to Philadelphia for an experience you won't want to miss.

Happenings March 2025

Selected Events Around the Country:

Orchid Shows:

Thru March 9, Orchid Show, St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden
Thru March 23, Orchid Show, Boylston, MA
"Pixels & Petals," New England Botanic Garden
Thru March 23, Orchid Show, Glencoe, IL
"India Blooms," Chicago Botanic Garden
Thru March 30, Orchid Show, Cleveland, OH
Orchids: Love in Bloom, Cleveland Botanical Garden

Thru April 13, Orchid Show, Atlanta, GA
"Orchid Daze," Atlanta Botanical Garden
Thru April 27, Orchid Show, Washington DC
"Masters of Deception," US Botanic Garden & Smithsonian Gardens
Thru April 27, Bronx, NY
The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism
NY Botanical Garden

Events:
March 1-9, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Gardens of Tomorrow," Philadelphia Convention Center
March 1, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours, CA
Cathedral City, Palm Springs
March 5, "Roses in the Garden," West Palm Beach, FL
3-5pm, lecture, photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo,
Norton Museum of Art, Garden Conservancy
Repeats at other locations
March 7-9, Vermont Flower Show, Essex Junction, VT
Champlain Valley Expo
March 7-9 Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, Santa Barbara, CA
"Exotic Gardens," Earl Warren Showgrounds
March 8, US Production Facility Open House, Washington DC
10am-2:30pm, US Botanic Garden Production Facility

March 11, 39th Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
9am - 4:30pm, Davidson College, "The Unusual, Unexpected & Unfamiliar"
March 12, "Lawn to Meadow Conversion," ONLINE
7pm, Lecture, Evenings with Experts, Grow Native Massachusettts

March 21, Ithaca Native Landcape Symposium, Ithaca, NY
8:30am-4:45pm, Cinemapolis Theater
March 27, "Three Coastal Maine Gardens," Bronx, NY
11am, Lecture, NY Botanical Garden
March 29, Lahr Native Plant Symposium, Washington DC
9:15am-3:45pm, US National  Arboretum
March 29, Northwest Hort Society Spring Symposium, Kenmore, WA
8:30am-4pm, "Futurescapes," Bastyr University Auditorium

Lookahead:

April 10-12, 78th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
"The Influence of Great English Gardens,"  Also ONLINE
April 26-May 3, Historic Garden Week, various sites, Virginia

May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

Books: Fernando Wong Landscapes

   You don't have to live in the tropics to be inspired by Fernando Wong's landscape designs.  This new book, The Young Man and the Tree, (Vendome Press, 2024) is written by Wong's partner, Tim Johnson, and it features more than 20 contemporary gardens located in tropical areas, including Miami, Palm Beach, and Lyford Cay in the Bahamas.

The team is renowned for saving large trees, and all designers should be cognizant of that when fashioning plans and hiring contractors.  As Martha Stewart notes in the introduction to the book, "Fernando Wong is also extremely respectful of historic plantings around the older homes he has been entrusted with enhancing.  Magnificent trees and lush hedges are retained, and beautiful antique and vintage walls and outbuildings are restored or rebuilt.  The result?  A cohesive and meaningful whole where once there was none or where what had been there had disappeared."

Wong, trained in architecture and interior design in his native Panama, came to the United States in 2001, met Johnson in Miami, and the two opened their firm in 2005.  Their work has been featured in Elle Decor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, and many other publications.

Each garden in the book includes a brief description of the project, a "plan" of the landscape, and gorgeous photos by Carmel Brantley.  Designs range from the classical style to contemporary landscapes, and although the gardens in this book feature many tropical plants, the hardscapes that include pools, outdoor kitchens, fountains and sculpture gardens could be found almost anywhere.  You will not fail to be inspired by all of these designs, and I'm sure you'll look forward to the firm's next book that we hope will feature gardens across the United States and elsewhere around the globe.

*Commisions earned on book sales.

NYBG Orchid Show: Mexico

NYBG - Click to enlarge

The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism
February 15-April 27, 2025
NY Botanical Garden

Take a trip to Mexico -- where you'll see traditional floral displays in a contemporary artistic setting, all inspired by the bold designs of Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragan. Thousands of orchids and other tropical plants will be on display.  Barragan was a leading proponent of modern Mexican architecture, and he used plants native to Mexico, bright, bold colors and organic textures.

Visitors to the show will also learn about NYBG's ongoing orchid research in locations around the globe and orchids that grow in the wild.  The exhibition will also feature Orchid Nights and special classes about orchid species.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2025

PHS - click on images to enlarge

Gardens of Tomorrow March 1-9
Pennnsylvania Convention Center

This year's entrance garden, "Future Florentia" captures the idea that flowers are a symbol of the future, representing growth, beauty and vitality in a natural, poetic style.

Seth Pearsoll, the show's VP and Creative Director, says this year's theme "invokes a sense of optimism, highlighting how planting something today is a small gesture that promotes a brighter future."  He adds that the exhibitors' designs showcase sustainability and the re-use of materials to create gardens of "breathtaking artistic expression."

PHS President Matt Radar said the show offers "a glimpse into the future of the industry while advancing our mission to create a greener, healthier, and more equitable world through gardening." Several new designers will be exhibiting this year, including the landscape and urban design firm OLIN.  OLIN, in partnership with Remark Glass, will install a garden called "Don't Call it Dirt, Don't Call it Trash" to emphasize the importance of repurposing items that are often thrown away, such as glass bottles, woody debris, and food waste.

Japanese garden designer Kazuyuki Ishibara is working with Treeline Designz on a garden of two tiers that celebrates interconnected landscapes.  It's called "Tomorrow's Eden -- Gardens for a Changing World."

As always, the show will feature educational sessions, a butterfly kiosk, a play space for children, floral crowns available for purchase, potting parties, and early-morning tours and photography sessions.

For  a full schedule of activities, visit the website Philadelphia Flower Show.

 

Happenings February 2025

Selected Events Around the Country:

Orchid Shows:

Feb 1-March 9, Orchid Show, St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden
Feb 6, Lecture, LA Michelle Delk, Philadelphia, PA
6:30pm, Penn Design, "Snohetta Landscapes"
Feb 8-March 23, Orchid Show, Boylston, MA
"Pixels & Petals," New England Botanic Garden
Feb 8-March 23, Orchid Show, Glencoe, IL
"India Blooms," Chicago Botanic Garden
Feb 8-April 13, Orchid Show, Atlanta, GA
"Orchid Daze," Atlanta Botanical Garden

Feb 14-March 30, Orchid Show, Cleveland, OH
Orchids: Love in Bloom, Cleveland Botanical Garden
Feb 14-April 27, Orchid Show, Washington DC
"Masters of Deception," US Botanic Garden & Smithsonian Gardens
Feb 15-April 27, Bronx, NY
The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism
NY Botanical Garden

Events:

NOTE: US Production Facility Open House March 8th (see LOOKAHEAD below)
Tickets go very fast.

Jan 31-Feb 2, Nashville Antiques & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
Music City Center
Jan 31-Feb 9, Great Big Home & Garden Show, Cleveland, OH
I-X Center

Feb 7, Urban Tree Symposium, Boylston, MA & ONLINE
9am-4:30pm, "Urban Oasis," New England Botanic Garden
Feb 7, Today's Horticulture Symposium, Kennett Square, PA & ONLINE
8am-4pm, Longwood Gardens

Feb 10, Lecture, LA Thomas Rainer, Charleston, SC
5:30 pm, "Functional Planting," Charleston Hort Society
Feb 11, Lecture, Morris Arboretum Director William Cullina, ONLINE
7pm, Native Shrubs & Small Trees for Perennial Companions, Hort Society of MD
Feb 11, Lecture, "Designing Biodiversity," Cambridge, MA
7pm, LA Evan Abramson, Cambridge Public Library
Feb 13, "The Art of Bulbs", Bronx, NY
11am-noon, Lecture, designer Jacqueline van der Kloet, NYBG
Feb 14, Greenscapes Symposium, ONLINE
9am-4pm Eastern, "Designing Resilient Landscapes," Brookside Gardens
Feb 14-17, Great Backyard Bird Count, USA
Help Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Keep Track of Our Birds

Feb 19-23, Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, Seattle, WA
Seattle Convention Center
Feb 20-23, Connecticut Flower & Garden Show, Hartford, CT.
Connecticut Convention Center

Feb 26-28, ELA Annual Conference & Marketplace, ONLINE & MA, PA locations
Feb 28: Boylston, MA; Brewster, MA; Villanova, PA
Feb 27, "Black Flora," Floriculture's New Vanguard, Bronx, NY
11am-noon, Lecture, author Teresa Speight, NY Botanical Garden
Feb 28-March 2, New Jersey Home & Garden Show, Edison, NJ
NJ Convention & Exposition Center

LOOKAHEAD:

March 1-9, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Gardens of Tomorrow," Philadelphia Convention Center
March 8, US Production Facility Open House, Washington DC
10am-2:30pm, US Botanic Garden Production Facility
March 11, 39th Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
9am - 4:30pm, Davidson College, "The Unusual, Unexpected & Unfamiliar"
March 29, Lahr Native Plant Symposium, Washington DC
9:15am-3:45pm, US National  Arboretum

April 10-12, 78th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
"The Influence of Great English Gardens,"  Also ONLINE
April 26-May 3, Historic Garden Week, various sites, Virginia

May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

 

AHS Live Winter Series

Happenings January 2025

Selected Events Around the Country:

Events:

Jan 8-10, MANTS, Mid-Atlantic Trade Show, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center
Jan 9-10, NDAL Annual Design Symposium, Ambler PA & ONLINE
5pm, Temple University Ambler Campus
REPEATS: Jan 16-17, Connecticut College Arboretum, New London, CT

Jan 9, Cocktails & Conversations, Washington, DC
6:30-8:30pm, "Warming Climate, Wilder  Weeds," US Botanic Garden
Jan 10-12, Maricopa County Home & Garden Show, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona State Fairgrounds

Jan 13-17, Green & Growin' Trade Show, Greensboro, NC
Lectures: Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons; Trade Show: Greensboro Coliseum

Jan 23, "LIfe in the Garden," Bronx, NY
11-noon, Lecture, Designer Bunny Williams, NY Botanical Garden

Jan 28, Plant-O-Rama 2025, Brooklyn, NY
9am-4pm, Trade Show, Lectures, Career Fair, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Jan 29, Longwood Reimagined Lecture, Kennett Square PA or ONLINE
6:30-8:15pm, LA Doug Reed & others, Longwood Gardens
Jan 31-Feb2, Nashville Antiques & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
Music City Center
Jan 31-Feb 9, Great Big Home & Garden Show, Cleveland, OH
I-X Center, Cleveland

Light Shows:

thru Jan 4, "Garden Glow," St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden

thru Jan 5, "Lightscape," Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden
thru Jan 5, "Lightscape," Encinitas, CA
San Diego Botanic Garden
thru Jan 5, "Enchanted Forest of Light," La Canada Flintridge, CA
Descanco Gardens
thru Jan 5, "Lightscape," Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
thru Jan 5, "A Longwood Christmas," Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Botanical Gardens
thru Jan 5, New England Botanic Garden, Boylston, MA
"Night Lights: Color Cascade"
thru Jan 5, "Frost," Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Botanical Garden
thru Jan 5, "Season's Greenings," Washington DC
US Botanic Garden

thru Jan 12, "Garden Lights, Holiday Nights," Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden
thru Jan 20, "Holiday Train Show," Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden

Lookahead:

Feb 7, Urban Tree Symposium, Boylston, MA & ONLINE
9am-4:30pm, "Urban Oasis," New England Botanic Garden
Feb 7, Today's Horticulture Symposium, Kennett Square, PA & ONLINE
8am-4pm, Longwood Gardens

Feb 13, "The Art of Bulbs", Bronx, NY
11am-noon, Lecture, designer Jacqueline van der Kloet, NYBG
Feb 14, Greenscapes Symposium, ONLINE
9am-4pm Eastern, "Designing Resilient Landscapes," Brookside Gardens

Feb 26-28, ELA Annual Conference & Marketplace

March 1-9, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Gardens of Tomorrow," Philadelphia Convention Center
March 11, 39th Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
9am - 4:30pm, Davidson College, "The Unusual, Unexpected & Unfamiliar"

April 10-12, 78th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
"The Influence of Great English Gardens,"  Also ONLINE
April 26-May 3, Historic Garden Week, various sites, Virginia

May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

 

 

Books: Natural, Water-smart gardens; Floral design; propagation

Still time to order or purchase any of these for your gardening friends and family members:

It's one thing to design and plant a natural garden, but then ... how to maintain so it looks great all the time?  From the master -- author and plantsman Kelly D. Norris -- we now have all the answers.  In his new book,  Your Natural Garden (Cool Springs Press, 2025), he calls the book "a primer for cultivating an ecological garden .... While the objective of this book is ostensibly about caring for a natural garden, it's equally about thinking of the garden as an environment in which you live."

Norris explains how to plant a natural garden; how to garden in a warming world; how to attract beneficial wildlife and insects; when to weed (or not) and cut back your plants; and much, much more.

Photos throughout will offer inspiration to begin gardening, as Norris says, for "a daily cascade of pleasure, satisfaction, motivation, and reward for being consciously part of something, whether you can name every creature who walks through your garden or not."

This book will acquaint you with some of the most promising and prominent practitioners of floraculture today -and all of them hail from the Black community. Black Flora  (Timber Press, 2024), by author and gardener Teresa Speight, is the first book to explore the new experts in the world of flowers.

In the foreword to the book, horticulturist and historian Abra Lee notes that Black people have been passionate about flowers for generations.  When the Civil War was over, she says, and plantations in the South were burned to the ground, "our formerly enslaved ancestors went back to the ruined gardens.  From this land, nurtured by their educated hands, they took cuttings and roots of flowers and planted them in plots around their homes, preserving magnificent heirlooms we still enjoy to this day." 

You'll meet entrepreneurs from botanical artists to designers and growers, and even a therapist, who are working in all parts of the United States.  And as author Teresa Speight says, "My ancestors' hands have helped build and feed our family for generations. To not honor this Earth would disrespect my heritage.  I am passionate about sharing the stories of Black voices in the green world."

With climate change upon us, water-wise gardening is growing in influence all across the country. You don't have to forgo gardening if you experience water shortages, you simply have to learn which plants require less moisture and how to improve the techniques for saving and distributing water.

In The Water-Smart Garden. (Cool Springs Press, 2025), author and horticulturist Joelle Johnson (azplantlady.com) explains everything you need to know to garden beautifully and productively in low-water situations.  She tells you which plants require less water, explains how and why to plant drought-resistant cultivars, and how to use xeriscaping techniques almost anywhere. Wildfires are spreading across the country due to lack of water -- so be sure to read this book for the tips you need for gardening success.

If your plant budget is limited, then you'll surely want a copy of "The Ultimate Guide to Houseplant Propagation " (Cool Springs Press, 2025) by author, hybridizer, and plant shop owner Lindsay Sisti (@alltheplantbabies). Using her techniques, even I (a houseplant destroyer) have some little babies growing near my windows.  LIndsey has bred more than a dozen anthurium hybrids and she's received a patent for Alocasia 'Green Unicorn'. In this beautifully illustrated book, you'll learn easy and not-so-easy techniques for making more succulents, tropicals, aroids, and more. She explains which technique to use for which plant, along with all the tools and other items you'll need for success.  Can't wait until my Christmas cacti are big enough to give away as gifts!

 

*commissions eared on sales

Happenings December 2024

Selected Events Around the Country:

Light Shows:

thru December 22, "Festival of Lights," Fort Bragg, CA
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
thru Dec 31, "Gardens Aglow," Boothbay, ME
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

thru Jan 4, "Garden Glow," St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden

thru Jan 5, "Lightscape," Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden
thru Jan 5, "Lightscape," Encinitas, CA
San Diego Botanic Garden
thru Jan 5, "Enchanted Forest of Light," La Canada Flintridge, CA
Descanco Gardens
thru Jan 5, "Lightscape," Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
thru Jan 5, "A Longwood Christmas," Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Botanical Gardens
thru Jan 5, New England Botanic Garden, Boylston, MA
"Night Lights: Color Cascade"
thru Jan 5, "Frost," Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Botanical Garden
thru Jan 5, "Season's Greenings," Washington DC
US Botanic Garden

thru Jan 12, "Garden Lights, Holiday Nights," Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden
thru Jan 20, "Holiday Train Show," Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden

Events:
Dec 5, Ecological Landscape Alliance Season's End Summit, Grafton, MA
8am-4pm, Brigham Hill Community Farm - Also ONLINE
Dec 5, 12, 19 "Landscaping with Nature," ONLINE, NDAL
6pm-7:15pm, 3-part session, "Turning Battles into Partnerships"

Dec 12, "The Serge Hill Project," ONLINE
2pm Eastern, Lecture, British LA Tom Stuart-Smith, Garden Conservancy
Dec 31, Sissinghurst Through the Seasons, ONLINE, Garden Conservancy
Four episodes with Head Gardener Troy Scott Smith

LOOKAHEAD:

Jan 8-10, MANTS, Mid-Atlantic Trade Show, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center
Jan 9-10, NDAL Annual Design Symposium, Ambler PA & ONLINE
9am- 5pm, Temple University Ambler Campus
REPEATS: Jan 16-17, Connecticut College Arboretum, New London, CT
Jan 23, "LIfe in the Garden," Bronx, NY
11am -noon, Lecture, Designer Bunny Williams, NY Botanical Garden

Feb 14, Greenscapes Symposium, ONLINE
9am-4pm Eastern, "Designing Resilient Landscapes," Brookside Gardens

March 1-9, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Gardens of Tomorrow," Philadelphia Convention Center
March 11, 39th Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
9am - 4:30pm, Davidson College, "The Unusual, Unexpected & Unfamiliar"

April 10-12, 78th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
"The Influence of Great English Gardens,"  Also ONLINE

May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

Books: A US-UK Connection

 When I lived in Britain some years ago, I always journeyed a few times a year to the village of Woodstock, and to an iron gate that opened onto a most spectacular landscape:  the grounds of Blenheim Palace, home of the Churchill family for more than 300 years, with grounds designed in the 1700's by celebrated landscape gardener Capability Brown.

Although many books have been written about Blenheim, a new book, Blenheim by Henrietta Spencer-Churchill (Rizzoli USA, 2024), takes the reader on a comprehensive journey that includes the people who have inhabited the palace, its interior, its exterior, the park and gardens, the lifestyle of those who've lived there, and prospects for its future.

The Blenheim estate was gifted to John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, by Queen Anne for his service in the war of Spanish Succession. The US-UK connection began in 1888, when the 8th Duke, George Spencer-Churchill, married wealthy American Lilian Hammersly of New York.  She used some of her fortune to begin renovations at Blenheim, but later sued for the return of her money. The Duke's brother, Randolph Spencer-Churchill, married Jennie Jerome of New York, the mother of Winston Churchill, who was born at Blenheim and spent much time there as a boy.  The 9th Duke, Charles, married American Consuelo Vanderbilt, and her large dowry was used to undertake considerable renovations inside and outside the palace.

The park and gardens at Blenheim are open to the public and are well worth visiting.  The estate's original architect, Sir John Vanbrugh, created a large, striking design that included a Grand Avenue lined with elms, an imposing bridge over a canal; a walled kitchen garden; and a walled Military Garden with ordered plantings.  Most of that design was swept away in the mid-1700's, when Lancelot "Capability" Brown was hired to bring about a more naturalistic design.  As the author notes, "His vision for Blenheim, as indeed it was for many of the finest estates in Britain, was to paint a vast romantic picture using water, grass, trees, and artful "ruins."

Brown dammed a river to create a grand, 40-acre, tree-lined lake that included Vanbrugh's bridge, and he situated trees to offer views that invited further exploration. His vast South Lawn is a long vista that runs from the palace and includes a ha-ha, a sunken fence, to keep livestock away from the building.  Most of Brown's vision remains intact, but subsequent owners have made changes to bring the landscape up to date.  The 9th Duke added a formal Italian Garden, upper and lower water terraces.  There is also a Rose Garden, a Secret Garden, and a Churchill Garden, which celebrates the place where Winston proposed to his wife, Clementine.

Aside from the gardens, the staterooms, the architecture and the objets inside the palace, Henrietta Spencer-Churchill does not spare any of the inhabitants.  You'll read about scandals and intrigues, happiness and sadness, and the determination of a celebrated family to preserve their ancestral home and its heritage for generations to come.

And p.s.:  a perfect present for the holidays.

*Commissions earned on sales through Amazon.