GardenDesignOnline

Philadelphia Flower Show 2020

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Take a trip to the Riviera at this year's Philadelphia Flower Show.  Enter under an archway with cascading Mediterranean colors -- a floral display that evokes the feeling of sunshine and sparkling blue waters. 

Proceed through to a natural landscape of Greece designed by James and Helen Basson of Monaco, featuring cypress trees, goat-pruned vegetation, white mustard (Sinapis alba), germander (Teucrium chamaedrys), and a beautiful purple helleborus of the Rodney Davey Marbled Group.

Don't miss the exhibit by Laurélie de la Salle of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, France, a cape surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, including a pebble beach, pine and olive trees, succulents, sea pink (Armeria maritima) and other plants that tolerate drought, heat, and sea spray.

I was also struck by the refugee exhibit by Wish of Wilmington, Delaware.  It's a narrative about the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean region, featuring botanicals from Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the dramatic human stories of those trying to cross the seas for a better life.

And finally, there's the Princess Grace Rose Garden in honor of Philadelphia's own Grace Kelly, the movie star who married Prince Rainier of Monaco. The display features Grimaldi family rose plants, a replica of her wedding dress, a poem about roses that she wrote as a teenager; and other surprising stories from her life.

Of course there are many more displays to see; a Biodiversity Symposium; potting parties; and pop-up moments throughout the show. 

 

 

 

Philadelphia Flower Show Preview 2020

images, PHS. click to enlarge

Philadelphia Flower Show Feb 29-March 8
Pennsylvania Convention Center

If you've never been to the Riviera, now's your chance. This year's flower show is "Riviera Holiday," featuring plants from the Mediterranean region and five new designers, including two from Nice, France. You'll see a lot of lavender, citrus, oliver trees, along with flowers of many vibrant hues. Sam Lemheney, PHS Chief of Shows & Events, says the Riviera "has tremendous aesthetic appeal.  Anyone familiar with the region can close their eyes and see the magnificent plant life and smell the fragrances of the Mediterranean."

Among this year's top attractions:

The Princess Grace Rose Garden in honor of Philadelphia-born Grace Kelly, who married the Prince of Monaco.

A full-day Biodiversity Symposium with renowned botanist Dr. Peter Raven, the keynote speaker.

A Bloomin' Brunch offered daily -- a three-course meal inspired by the foods of Saint Tropez. 

Early Morning Tours (8am) that avoid the crowds.

Evening Guided Tours (6pm) :small groups led by docents

Potting Parties, and Butterflies Live!, an inter-active exhibit with more than 1000 butterflies.

The Philadelphia Flower Show is the nation's largest and longest-running horticultural event.  Don't miss this year's show.

 

 

 

Happenings March 2020

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

EXHIBITIONS:
ORCHID SHOWS:

thru March 1, Orchid Mania: Vibrant Vietnam, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Botanical Garden, 216-721-1600
thru March 22, Orchid Extravaganza, Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Gardens, 610-388-1000
thru March 22, Orchid Show, St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden, 314-577-5100
thru April 12, Orchid Daze, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
thru March 22, Orchid Show, Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440
thru April 19, The Orchid Show: Jeff Leatham's Kaleidoscope, Bronx, NY
Jeff Leatham: artistic director of the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris., NY Botanical Garden 718-817-8700
thru May 3, "Discover the World of Orchids," Washington DC
US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333

March 24-Aug 23, Margaret Mee: Portraits of Plants, Washington DC
Dumbarton Oaks, Paintings of Amazon flora by the artist, explorer & environmentalist.

Events:

March 3, Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
"Gardening with 20/20 Vision," Davidson College
March 4-5 ELA Conference & Eco Marketplace, Amherst, MA
8am-5pm, UMass, Amherst, 617-436-5838
March 4, Climate Change & Role of Native Plants, Cambridge, MA
7-8:30pm, Lecture, Cambridge Public Library, Grow Native MA 781-790-8921
March 5, Lecture on Vaux-le-Vicomte, West Palm Beach, FL
3pm, Norton Museum of Art, Garden Conservancy, 845-424-6500
REPEATS: March 8, Filoli, Woodside,CA

March 6-8 Blue Grass Trust Antiques & Garden Show, Lexington, KY
Kentucky Horse Park's Alltech Arena, 35th Show
March 10, Yeamans Hall Club, Charleston, SC
March 7, Garden Dialogues, West Palm Beach, FL
10:30am-noon, Deeridge Farms South, TCLF, 202-483-0553
March 7, US Botanic Garden Production Facility Open House, Washington DC
1pm & other times, Once a year not-to-be-missed tour, 202-225-8333

March 11-15, Boston Flower & Garden Show, Boston, MA
"Garden Party," Seaport World Trade Center, 800-258-8912
March 12, 20th Land Ethics Symposium, Doylestown, PA
March 12, LA Ron Henderson of L+A Lanscape Architecture, Boston, MA
7-9pm, Lecture, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156
March 13-14, Ithaca Native Plant Symposium, Ithaca, NY
12th annual symposium, "Bringing the Future into Focus." 607-533-7193
March 13, Lecture, "The Earth in Her Hands," Bronx, NY
11am-12:30pm, Jamaica Kincaid and Jennifer Jewell on 75 Women Working in the World of Plants, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700

March 17, Lecture on James Golden's Federal Twist Garden, Bronx, NY
1-3pm, Talk by James Golden, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
March 18-22, Chicago Flower & Garden Show, Chicago, IL
Navy Pier, "Focus on Flowers," 312-241-1250
March 19, Lecture by LA Jorge Sanchez, Palm Beach, FL
10am-1pm, "The Making of 3 Gardens, Paradise in Palm Beach," The Garden Conservancy, 845-424-6500
March 21, Northwest Hort Society Spring Symposium, Seattle, WA
9am-4pm, "Gardening for the Future," 206-780-8172

March 26, "The Garden Came First," Bronx, NY
10-11:30am, Lecture by plantsman, designer, & collector Sean Hogan, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
March 28, Native Plant Saturday, Bronx, NY
10am-5pm, All about Native Plants, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
March 28, Lahr Native Plant Symposium, Washington DC
8:30am-3:45pm, "Insight to Action," US National Arboretum, 202-245-4523
March 28 Garden Dialogues, Sarasota FL
2-3pm, Tour of Urban Modern Retreat, TCLF, 202-483-0553
March 29, Garden Dialogues, Sarasota & Bird Key, FL
10am-3:30pm, Tours at multiple locations, TCLF, 202-483-0553

LOOKAHEAD:

April 17-19 Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
74th annual symposium, "Celebrate Planet Earth,"  757-565-8937
April 18-25, Virginia Historic Garden Week

May16-22, Landscape Architecture Workshop, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France
Garden tours, lectures, design sessions with Charles Birnbaum of TCLF & Eric Groft of Oehme, van Sweden, TCLF, 202-483-0553
May 19-23, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

Russell Page Lecture

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This photo is of the Russell Page water garden at Pepsico Gardens in New York -- gardens I visited some years ago.

If you can make it to the NY Botanical Garden on February 28, don't miss the lecture on The LIfe and Legacy of Russell Page.

Friday, February 28, 11am-12:30pm
Lecture by Christopher Woodward, Director of  London's Garden Museum

Page, of course, was one of the 20th century's most influential landscape designers and author of the masterpiece The Education Of A Gardener (New York Review Books Classics).

Woodward will update everyone on the 3000+ design drawings given to the museum in 2015 by Page's friends and family; the focus of the talk will be on his American works at PepsiCo, the Frick Collection, and elsewhere.  Promises to be a fascinating day -- and well worth a trip to NYC.

NYBG Orchid Show: Floral Kaleidoscope

New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show
Jeff Leatham's Kaleidoscope
Feb 15-April 19, 2020

That's famed floral designer Jeff Leatham buried in orchids ... as he transforms the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory into tunnels of orchids. Jeff is the artistic director of the Hotel Four Seasons George V in Paris, with studios in Four Seasons Hotels in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Each gallery in Jeff's design is a different color, and as you walk through them, it's like walking through the turns of a kaleidoscope. "Color is the first and most important aspect of my work, always," he said.  "I want every gallery to be a different color experience for visitors as they move through them, like looking into a kaleidoscope.  I loved kaleidoscopes as a child.  You start dreaming as you look through one.  People have seen the interiors of the Conservatory already, but with this exhibition, I want them to look through them like never before."

This year's show will feature arches of hanging orchids, some from the NYBG collections and others from growers around the world, including rare and iconic specimens.

Special classes, workshops and demonstrations will take place throughout the show.  If you can't make it, you may be interested in some of Jeff's books:

Jeff Leatham: Visionary Floral Art and Design

(Rizzoli, 2014)

A volume on his designs, featuring over 200 photographs of floral works that he put together over 10 years, ranging from weddings to intimate dinner parties and birthday celebrations.  He also guides you through the elements of successful floral design, and you won't find a better volume on the subject.

 

 

Books: After the Design

OK, so you have a design for your property and either arranged for installation or decided to do it yourself. 

So now what?  Well, what you need is this great new volume by Daryl Beyers, an author and the gardening coordinator at the New York Botanical Garden. In The New Gardener's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Grow a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden (Timber Press, 2020), Beyers tells you (and shows you through lots of photos and drawings), how to install and take care of all those pricey plants.

After some basics about plant structure and soil, Beyers delves into plant selection and he offers some great lists of "10 favorites," such as small trees, trees for multi-season interest, evergreens for hedging and screening, flowering shrubs, perennials, annuals, and more.

You'll also learn the proper way to establish a plant, how to water, feed, and even read a fertilizer label. He also shows you how to propagate and lists which perennials to divide in early spring and late summer.  One of my favorite chapters is the one on pruning.  I have several pruning books, and this chapter is the best explanation I've ever read, illustrated with photos and drawings.  He lists which shrubs respond to rejuvenation pruning and which shrubs and perennials you should deadhead. Finally there's a chapter on diseases & insects & what to do about them.

If you want to keep your garden looking good, you should definitely have this book in your library.