After 10 years of visiting the Philadelphia Flower Show, I finally made it to the New England Flower Show in Boston and was very disappointed. People had told me to expect a flower show almost as good as Philadelphia. Perhaps this candid review of several flower shows will give people more realistic expectations of these flower shows. I hope readers of my letter will contribute information comparing some of the other flower shows around the country, especially Cleveland, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco and others (also Chelsea in England).

The Philadelphia Flower Show (March 1-8, 1998) is the oldest flower show in the country (starting in 1829). For 10 years I have been visiting the Philadelphia for this rite of spring. After 30 years at the old Civic Center, the Flower Show was moved about four years ago to the new Convention Center in downtown Philadephia. I was excited about this move, which expanded the show from 6 to 10 acres and placed it next door to the Reading Terminal Market and China Town. In 1998, for the first time, Flower Show visitors were allowed to leave the show to visit the city, eat dinner, or whatever, and then re-enter the show on the same day. The Flower Show food has never been very exciting (I am trying to be diplomatic), now there are innumerable options right across the street.

Now there are great bathroom facilities, lots of seating, and close proximity to many of Philadelphia’s best restaurants. Lost in the move was the overwhelming entrance at the old Civic Center, where you came down an escalator and got a panorama of all the major exhibits combined with the fragrance of millions of flowers. The new Convention Center also has nearly a 60 foot ceiling, which dwarfed the Flower Show compared to the 20 foot ceiling at the old location. One of the participating nurseries has, however, built a greenhouse specifically for forcing large trees for the Flower Show (Franklin Styer’s Nursery, I believe). The 1998 show included some 30 foot crabapples in bloom, a 25 foot Stewartia in leaf-not bloom, a 30 foot Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum), and several 30-40 foot Blue Atlas Ceders.

The florists play a major role at the Philadephia Flower Show, and for those of us who cannot get enough gardens, it can be a little too much. This year, however, I enjoyed the floral arrangement exhibits more than ever. The Philadelphia Show is arranged into 3 major areas rather equal in size, large display gardens, competitive categories, and vendors. Although I heard several complaints about the quality of the vendors, I did not see any decline in quality. I believe there is still a waiting list of several years to get into the show as a vendor.

I think one of the keys to the Philly Show is the competitive categories, many of which rotate three times during the show to allow more categories (and participants) to be on display. These competitive categories help to fill the volunteer ranks (nearly 3,500 volunteers involved) by involving people in the show, which also encourages them to invite friends, relatives, and neighbors to see their display and the show. Finally, the major key to the Philadelphia Flower Show is the continuity and great expertise in running the show. Jane Pepper and Ed Lindeman, who have run the show for so many years (15-20), are always improving it - never resting on their laurels!
As a person who has brought motorcoach tour groups to the Philadelphia Flower Show for many years, I must say that the organizers keep making the job easier for me - this year mailing the Flower Show Programs to me ahead of time. For information about 1999 (March 7-14, 1999), call the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (215) 988-8899. Website is http://www.libertynet.org/~flowrsho/

There is a lot to recommend the New England Flower Show in Boston, but don’t plan a trip expecting to see something like the Philadelphia Show. There were some wonderful exhibits, and hundreds of vendors. It seemed that vendors occupied about half the floor space, maybe more. The New England Flower Show (March 7-15, 1998) was held in the Bayside Exposition Center, which is expansive in acreage but not in height. The 15 foot ceiling really limits the scale of the exhibits. The exhibits were framed with black cloth backdrops instead of plants. There is no room to build the great structures that add so much to the Philadelphia Show, like the Hall of Mirrors, tool sculptures and many others this year. There were some amazing azaleas at the New England Show and other interesting plants. I do not want to diminish the incredible amount of work that is put into the show. Even avid gardeners probably do not appreciate what is involved in forcing a large number of diverse plants to bloom during a certain week in March. Try taking the branches of several flowering trees and force them to bloom all together in your home! For more information call the Mass. Horticultural Society (617) 536-9280.

Finally let me highlight little old Rochester’s flower show - Garden Scape 98 (March 19-22, 1998). Flower shows do not need to be left to only the largest cities. Rochester’s show was much smaller in space than the New England Show, but some of these exhibits would have won awards at even the Philadelphia Flower Show. Nurseries and other companies are combining forces to create larger scale exhibits which rival the big city flower shows. Most of the people that went with me on the tour to the New England Flower Show told me they liked Rochester’s show better. The planting density was greater, and evergreens were often used as backdrops instead of black curtains.

A real highlight of the Rochester Show which Boston and Philadelphia should copy is the children’s interactive garden, staffed largely by kids and a great way to give kids something to do - rather than just look at things. The children’s garden had a 15 foot Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, several model trains, rabbits to pet, tree seedlings to plant in pots, an oat-filled sand box, face painting, and much more.
Congratulations to the Genesee Finger Lakes Nursery and Landscape Association which organizes Garden Scape in Rochester. For information about next year’s show visit the website or call (585) 265-9018.