The dazzling excitement of a Hollywood movie premiere –scented with roses and popcorn — will make every guest feel like a star at the 2015 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, “Celebrate the Movies,” running until March 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. A red carpet will lead visitors through an Art Deco theater facade with a 29-foothighmarquee of flowers and more than 200 lights in blazing neon colors. The Entrance Garden will recall the fantastic interiors of 1920s movie palaces, with towering juniper and palm trees and grand chandeliers dripping with blossoms, moss, jewels and fabrics. Sweeps of 800 blue-green and variegated hostas will surround the planters of the star-studded rose garden, with blooms named in honor of silver-screen legends, including Judy Garland (orange-yellow), Marilyn Monroe (peach), Elizabeth Taylor (pink), Henry Fonda (yellow), and Barbra Streisand (pink lavender). An 8-foot centerpiece of cut roses and other blossoms will be the largest arrangement ever created for a Flower Show entrance.
The garden will also feature 1,500 calla lilies in yellow, lavender, peach-orange and plum; 1,400 ferns; New Guinea patiens, pentas, digiplexis, geraniums, anemones, pineapple lilies, and rieger begonias. In keeping with the movie theme, a moving sculpture of a deconstructed film projector by Chris Kanienberg, of Wish Painting and Sculpture, will flicker and whirl in the garden.
Guests will also view the winning entries in the Flower Show short-film competition entitled “What Is Beauty?” on the 36-foot-wide, high-definition screen in the garden. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which builds beauty every day through its gardening, greening and learning programs, is working with the Greater Philadelphia Film Office to engage professional and student filmmakers in the competition. Guests will be able to purchase popcorn and other movie theater treats in the garden concession stand while watching the winning films. The Entrance Garden will be the opening act in an astounding presentation that turns the silver screen into living color on the Flower Show floor. Internationallyrenowned floral and garden designers will use Disney and Disney•Pixar films as inspiration for exhibits that highlight everyone’s favorite movies, from “Cars” to “Frozen” and “Maleficent” to the new live action film “Cinderella.”
Tickets for the 2015 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show are now available online at theflowershow.com.
