Yesterday I referenced an exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show that grabbed my attention more than any other and also appeared to be the most polarizing exhibit at the show. I made it a point to carefully listen to as many visitors’ comments as possible as they approached this controversial display. The comments ranged from “It’s an ugly mess of weeds” to “It’s a sea of dead plants” to “It’s anti-color” to “I totally get it”. Personally, the first thing I said upon seeing it was “Kind of looks like my backyard right now”.

Guess I should explain …

The display, created by Scape Design, is based on the following painting:  

Crazy you say? Allow me to continue.

This painting, created by famed artist Albert Diato, was discovered within the private collection of Prince Albert of Monaco and is the inspiration for the garden display.

The water-filled silver/gray bowl represents the artist’s ceramic works and is intended to represent the bright Mediterranean light:

The curved orange block in the painting is interpreted through the use of a “cob wall” that represents the artists time spent in Afghanistan:

And the black circle in Diato’s painting is imagined as garden seating; a burnt black log that is intended to not be inviting, inspired by the artist’s desire to work in solitaire:  

After reading this information and absorbing it, I was fascinated by the display. The interpretation by the designer is way cool and such a departure from all of the other color filled exhibits at the show. I dig the anti-color (although brown is a color last I checked).

Of course as much as I loved the “artistry”, I was most fascinated by the use of the plants. The exhibit utilized all sorts of ornamental grasses (mostly Panicum aka Switch Grass), Rudbeckia and other “spent” plants highlighted by their seed heads:

Not what you expect to see at a Flower Show, eh? As I mentioned previously, it sort of looks like my own late winter garden right now. Beautiful in its own way and a really cool interpretation by the designer.

I kid you not, I spent a good hour lingering near this display just to enjoy the visitors’ reactions. Once the exhibit comes into view, it looks like this:

It immediately set people back and evoked such strong opinions. My biggest regret is that I didn’t personally interview these people so I could share their exact thoughts with you.

So what do you think?

For the fifth consecutive year, I made it out to the Philadelphia Flower Show and as expected, it didn’t disappoint. There was a threat of snow in the air as I set out this morning, but if you’re an integral part of the media like me, you cannot let that stand in the way. There was a story to be reported on and I needed to deliver.

This year’s theme is ARTiculture, “where art meets horticulture”. This theme jumps out at you as soon as you enter the main hall, and in a good way. Not in a “please tone it down I’m on sensory overload” way. Obviously art and horticulture go hand in hand and to the surprise of no one, the designers played off of that interplay to perfection.

Upon entering the garden display zone, I followed my usual routine. Camera in hand and extremely business-like; I am a professional photographer and I am here to work. There are photos to be taken and all must get out of my way.

This is where it helps to be 6 foot 4. I have the luxury of being able to take photos without much of a concern as to who is around me. There is little competition and I really can’t be defeated. I even considered renting myself out for a small fee (note to self for next year).

After about an hour of shooting from every possible angle, the camera goes away and I grab myself an $8 beer (Yards IPA) and try to actually enjoy the gardens without thinking about how to photograph them. I’ll then stroll down to the vendors/booths to check out potential purchases and the latest gimmicks.

It was a mad house near the vendors this year so the stroll didn’t last very long. And I didn’t buy a thing. Instead, I grabbed myself a sandwich, sat down for a bit and regrouped. That only lasted for five minutes and I was up with the camera in tow yet again. I couldn’t deny that I the photo taking more than anything else.

So without further ado, I give you the best of my pics from the show …                     

Actually before we get to that, I have a few observations on the crowd. Specifically, three different “types” of visitors I witnessed today and have witnessed at each and every other show to date:

Husband/boyfriend wearing an Eagles jersey telling the world it wasn’t his idea to go to the show – this was as entertaining to watch as the show itself. As the wife/girlfriend walked from display to display, wine in hand, the husband/boyfriend didn’t hide his disdain for being there and constantly checked his phone with a courtesy glance thrown at the flowers every minute or so.

Husband/boyfriend pretending to be interested with the hopes of scoring points with their significant other – this was also super entertaining and I appreciated the effort, even though I saw right through them.

Models demanding to have themselves photographed in front of each and every display – true story, I witnessed a woman, the width of a Twix bar, ask her photographer boyfriend/gofer if he can make sure she looks “as thin as possible” in a particular shot. I threw her a sandwich and walked away.

Back to the photos (with a few random comments thrown in) …
    

Love me an all conifer display:

The stepping stones are covered in newspaper articles from the New York Times:

The Subaru display was my personal favorite:

Watching Miriam Goldberger, author of Taming Wildflowers and Jerry Fritz in a container gardening extravaganza: 

Yes, dead grasses … finally a display I can personally relate to:

The Fabulous Beekman Boys signing books: