Each year, the Philadelphia Flower Show welcomes thousands of visitors to shop garden vendors, sip themed drinks and gawk at its towering displays of orchids and azaleas.
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The signature Pennsylvania Horticultural Society event takes up multiple halls and wings of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, making it easy to get lost in the (immaculately manicured) wilderness. So what should attendees prioritize at the 2024 event, which is opening Saturday for a nine-day stay? Here are a few can’t-miss attractions from local designers and government agencies at the exposition:
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceShapely bouquets
This display from Philly-based Robertson’s Flowers & Events will bring you back to preschool with its bright colors and geometric shapes. Sprays of flowers sprout from vases on the ground, between triangles and off the rack hanging from the ceiling.
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceDecorative dining
Tissarose, another Philadelphia floral design company, makes its show debut with an exhibit featuring an overgrown dining room. The display was inspired by migrants in the segregated U.S. South gathering for company and ceremony before traveling north or west. The arrangement is meant to be inviting, compelling visitors to fill their houses with loved ones (and maybe a rose or two).
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceA floral atlas of America
An installation from the Gloucester County florists at Jennifer Designs might inspire you to hit the open road. The colors in this massive U.S. atlas correspond to the gradients in the plant hardiness zone map created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A cherry red sports car with two mannequins, buried under extra greenery, complete the playful piece.
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceThe buzz on pollinators
One of the show’s new educational exhibitors this year is the United States Geological Survey, the government agency that collects data on land use, minerals and ecosystems. Its booth goes big on bees. To help address declining bee populations, the USGS provides a display of different species and information on how to make your garden friendly to native pollinators.
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceContessa the budding model
This mysterious mannequin, dubbed Contessa, wears the flower of Italy on her chic black dress. White lilies in various stages of bloom dot her skirt, winding up to her bodice, which is made of bent black Ti leaves. This fashion-forward creation is the work of the American Institute of Floral Designers, a nonprofit group founded in 1965.
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceThe grand entrance garden
The flower show aims to stun visitors right out of the gate with the colorful garden at its entrance. Playing off themes of edges and reflections, the exhibit features a pool and mirrored boxes, which bounce images of pink tulips, purple hydrangeas and other brightly hued buds around the cavernous space.
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoiceHomegrown talent
The flower show isn’t just expo; it’s a competition. Visitors can spy blue ribbon-winning houseplants and flowers at the center of the hall in Hamilton Horticourt. Keep an eye out for oddities like this spindly cactus, dubbed a “Monkey tail” for its hairy limbs.
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