Philly's phlowers phlourish pictures

You just thought you were at a Halloween House of Horror.  No, Jack, you were just reliving Jack the Ripper as in Great Britain, this year's theme at the Philadelphia Flower Show.  This is a bed of red roses at "Jack" by Schaffer Designs to recognize (?), "in honor of" (?) the criminal who murdered at least 11 people. It won "Best Achievement in a Dramatic Setting." More pictures of "Jack," below/Patricia Leslie

Phloriculture phills phrilly Philly at this time of year for the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, celebrating its 174th year, and if you've been once, you know how phloriferous it is, and if you've never been, well, there's next year since the show ends today.

Michael Petrie's Handmade Gardens won "Best in Show" for Landscape/Patricia Leslie

A side view of Michael Petrie's Handmade Gardens for "Best in Show" for Landscape/Patricia Leslie

Phlipping phlowers, we can phly up to Philly today. 

Just look at the pictures.

Stop and smell the roses/Patricia Leslie

Phloribunda!

My begonias don't look like this. To gauge the size, please see the person standing nearby/Patricia Leslie

On a bad hair day, here's something to hide under/Patricia Leslie

Signs warned visitors not to get too close or risk being grabbed by a green monster/Patricia Leslie

This won a red ribbon for best use of a large plant in a small pot/Patricia Leslie

The winner of several prizes was "Welcome Wanderer" from William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream by Abington Senior High School/Patricia Leslie

How about a green roof for your bow wow? The sign says "sempervivums" were used as roof plants as far back as Roman times/Patricia Leslie 

A moving statue would dress up your yard like this one which captured a yellow ribbon. She is based on the Congressional model of women: She moves but doesn't speak/Patricia Leslie

A yard sculpture for every budget/Patricia Leslie

Primary

Another hairy green monster which earned Second Prize in its category for Lynn Cook and Troy Ray of the Liberty Bell Gesneriad Society/Patricia Leslie 

Daniel P. Clark of Lower Merion High School won an Honorable Mention for his lavendar crown made of statice, moss, walnut, pussy willow, rosebud, rice flower, blue thistle, leucadenron, and limonium for the Great Britain theme, Brilliant (?)/Patricia Leslie

This bracelet is made of allspice, yucca, lemon grass, spaghetti squash, oak, and palm/Patricia Leslie

This necklace is made of acorn, almond, Brazil nut, centaurea, cinammon stick, chickpea, garlic chive, hazelnut, kumquat, lentil, licorice root, lotus root, mustard seed, mung bead, navy bean, orange peel, pistachio shell, pomegranate, poppy pod, pumpkin seed, soybean, wheat, raffia, and squash seed/

This necklace is made of crape myrtle, fern, pieris, lotus, pea, grapevine, and heptacodium/Patricia Leslie

Keith Cavell Long, Jr. won a Blue Ribbon and three other ribbons for "An Eye of Style" window display/Patricia Leslie

Primary

These red-tipped long fingernails greeted guests in a long line for "Jack"/Patricia Leslie

Upside-down roses try to obliterate mother-in-law's tongue in "Jack"/Patricia Leslie

Your eyes do not deceive you:  Those are arm parts and hands coming from the wall in "Jack"/Patricia Leslie

This won in the category of Giant Hair Brushes and another ribbon for Lynn Cook and Troy Ray of the Liberty Bell Gesneriad Society/Patricia Leslie

Whenever you go, whatever you do, do not miss the wine tastings. So many to sample, and so were the samplers, but the wine sippers were not numerous enough to make the waits too long on a Friday afternoon.   Plus the chocolate martini was worth whatever wait and almost, almost sent me over to the purchasing table, however, I was able to rein in myself since I don't drink martinis or hard liquor (what? Margaritas are not hard liquor?) except then, and the Smirnoff Kissed Caramel Vodka was better than the name.

These on top of champagnes and wines, and mustard with some dog and some British pale ale at lunch, and I was pretty well sloshed (and unable to aim and take more photographs) but able to miraculously crawl over to the chocolate and cheese sites for samples (to die for: tomato reggiano, at $16/pound, another purchase I skipped) and almond toffee which became dinner before we (Smithsonian Associates) boarded the bus back to D.C., and were served sherry en route. Oh, my!

We never had a chance to get over to the Reading Market.

Next year!

I was happily phulphilled, but enough of my phlummery.

Philicious phobia!

I can't say enough good things about another phantastic, phun Smithsonian Associates tour.  Really.  Thanks to Cindy Brown, Bill Ulman, Alex D (from the other bus) and Danny Mott, the driver.  Great job! 

But so saddened to hear of the take-down of the healthy 100+ year-old ginkgo tree at Pharragut Square. Shhhhhh….Where is that tree commission when you need it?

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