Bella Italia (March 1-8, PA Convention Center)
As you can see, this year's flower show theme is Italy, and it covers the entire landscape, from the formal gardens of ancient Rome to Tuscan landscapes, the canals of Venice, the art of Florence, and much more.
If you like formal gardens, this is the place to be: walls of boxwood, fountains and statues, arches and columns, along with bougainvilla and wisteria vines, cypress and olive trees.
A modern touch will be provided by the American Institute of Floral Designers, who are sponsoring a Milan boutique filled with high fashion couture, handbags, shoes and other accessories -- all made of flowers.
Among the main reasons to visit the show are to see the new plant varieties you may not have encountered before, and to admire the hard work and ingenuity that go into the annual competitions, the work of true experts and dedicated die-hards.
I'm also intrigued by this close-up photo of a painted weeping beech tree, part of the exhibit by Michael Petrie's Handmade Gardens. The tree stands in a rather austere landscape of plants and pools of water that look like floating jewels. The leafless tree, says Petrie, is "symbolic of the dormancy of trees in winter," but its vibrant colors represent "the tree's spring return to life."
Petrie says the vivid bands of color on the 25-foot tree -- yellow, pink, orange, blue and green -- are in keeping with the bright, stylish, and happy colors of the Mediterranean region, where there is always bright, clear sun.
The exhibit also features a new selection of foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) introduced by Sinclair Adam, Jr of Dunvegan Nursery. According to Petrie, it's part of a new clumping selection called Diverellas, which are named "after highly successful women who are "divas" in some way.
(photos: PA Horticultural Society, Handmade Gardens)
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