This past weekend, I planned to meet up with a friend from college in Philadelphia. While in the city, we ended up getting to attend the Philadelphia Flower Show for free! I had always heard great things about the Flower Show but never got the chance to go myself. This year’s theme was Flower Power and it was definitely beautiful to see in person.
The Show Entrance
The convention center is divided into parts. After your ticket is scanned there is a large area that guests can walk into where booths from different companies have set up. This is a nice area to rest if you took breaks between doing things at the show as there are different events going on throughout each day. There is also a really nice wine tasting too!
When walking into the show there is a beautiful flower display. It divides the entrance showcasing competition displays on its left and the Flower Power display on its right.
Competition Displays
Once we walked into the main area of the show we noticed the smaller displays on the left. These displays were part of the world competition and showcased each artist’s work. They were all incredible.
My personal favorite was one that exhibited flowers in a coffin-like shape. When you turned to the side you could see there were multiple layers to it to give dimension and depth to the arrangement. The bright flowers used contrast with the dark connotation of its shape which I found really interesting.
Market Booths
Walking further in, we found a large area where various vendors were located. It was honestly as if someone had moved a farmers market indoors which was something I didn’t expect to see. In hindsight, I probably should have researched what goes on at the Flower Show but I wasn’t really expecting to be here.
Some of the booths were cute and had some really nice products and others were more showcasing bigger items like lawn tools. They also had food booths throughout the center which had a variety of items from baked goods to standard hot dogs and popcorn. Had I not eaten in Reading Terminal Market I definitely would have grabbed a pastry here.
Flower Power Display
All You Need Is Love
To the Right of the entrance was where the main display was located. It was really beautiful but I found myself wondering if it was lacking. Last year’s theme was Holland inspired and from what I saw online, it looked incredibly immersive. What I saw this year felt more restricted and more like a museum walkthrough. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful and a wonderful experience!
Two areas really stood out to me and that was the neon lights display and the retro outdoor inspired display. The neon lights display didn’t show well in photography but it was so beautiful in person. Each display had curated flowers to fit each color. They also had fun styles, the orange display had a nice arrangement for a photo op and the blue display arranged paper plates to look like reefs underwater.
The outdoor display was really well done. The area had what looked like a cute campground with a sign pointing to Woodstock. The tent was set up with a lava lamp inside and there was a vintage truck filled with flowers. This area had a lot more to it as well but there were so many people filtering through that it was hard to get to enjoy it all. Part of this included hanging floral arrangements of a peace sign and a Philadelphia LOVE sign as well.
My Take on it All
As beautiful as the show was, I found that the guests really took away from the experience. I was honestly pretty shocked at how some of these people treated the displays around them. One woman leaned behind someone taking a photo to actually touch a flower in a display. Another woman had the audacity to step into a display and move the lettering on the truck so that her daughter could sit down next to it and take a photo. I don’t know I just could never do that for a picture, especially when there are signs everywhere saying not to do it.
I think if I had gone the first week I wouldn’t have seen people acting like this as much but I’m really not sure. Overall I can’t complain much about the show itself, I got the chance to see it for free and I can say I would definitely come back.