PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Exhibits, 2012 to 2020
PHS requested that we avoid focusing on the theme of the 2020 show, “Riviera Holiday,” and instead address their strategic plan, “Gardening for the Greater Good.” After reading, and becoming inspired by Sarah Stein’s book, Noah’s Garden (1993), we concluded that the greatest good would result if we humans began ungardening. Our exhibit, entitled “Course of action: A radical tack for suburban tracts,” portrayed an evolving suburban landscape that attracts wildlife, embraces chance, cultivates resilience through diversity, and appreciates restraint and the viability of repurposed building materials. The main features of the exhibit included a hedgerow, corner woodland, wood shed (and green roof), fence, natural swimming pool, and meadow. We integrated underappreciated native, uncultivated plants with high wildlife value (as foraging sources, shelter and nests) among conventional plants, and demonstrated ecologically-aware landscape practices rather than outdated routines. The climate crisis and precipitous decline of insects demand immediate action. We must start the evolution by resetting our tacks!
For a summary of the 2020 exhibit, please click here: 2020 PhilaFlowerShow_Portfolio Excerpt
Our 2019 show exhibit, “Hip haven: Hangin’ loose at a home refuge,” reflected on the events related to the origins of the phrase, “Flower Power,” the show theme, and recognized that global climatic change makes the social and ecological concerns that began in the 1960s more relevant today than ever before. Our exhibit depicts a contrast between an artificial, resource-intensive environment and a more natural, resourceful place, between unsustainable and regenerative, resilient lifestyles; between the status quo and “hip,” new ideas, styles, and expressions; and between a landscape where humans reign and one that respects all life. Wildlife and plants need refuges from our behaviors and environments. Our exhibit demonstrates that such havens need not be far from home. For a summary of the 2019 exhibit, please click here: 2019 PhilaFlowerShow_Portfolio Excerpt
PHS entitled the theme of the 2018 show “Wonders of water (WOW!).” We called our exhibit, which focused on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, “Within Reach! Unlocking the legacy of our hidden river.” Schuylkill is a Dutch word that means hidden river, or skulking stream. We sought to reveal aspects of the Schuylkill, including its distant headwaters in the Piedmont region; the history of the Schuylkill River Navigation System, or Schuylkill Canal; the inherent energy of its flow, which once powered various mills in the region; and the semi-diurnal tidal effect that the Moon has on the river. For a summary of the 2018 exhibit, please click here: 2018 PhilaFlowerShow_Portfolio Excerpt
PHS called the 2017 show “Holland: Flowering the World.” We entitled our exhibit, “Nieuwpolders: Regenerating the Dutch custom of land recovery.” Nieuwpolders is our attempt at importing into the Mid-Atlantic Region new or novel polders, which are lands that have been reclaimed for vegetation. We included rainwater, green wall, reclaimed pavement (dry garden), and reclaimed lawn polders. For a summary of the 2017 exhibit, please click here: 2017 PhilaFlowerShow_Portfolio Excerpt
The 2016 show was called “Explore America: 100 years of the National Park Service.” We visited and interpreted Hopewell Furnace, an 19th-century iron plantation in Elverson, Pennsylvania. Our exhibit, “After the blast: Recollecting roots and resources at Hopewell Furnace,” depicted a root cellar, remnant forest, furnace walls, and a rainwater race. For a summary of the 2016 exhibit, please click here: 2016-philaflowershow_portfolio-excerpt
PHS called the 2015 show “Lights, Camera, Bloom!” before centering the show theme around Disney movies. Rather than attempting to depict a specific movie in our exhibit, “Star power: Casts of light that stir and spellbind,” we highlighted two times of day within which directors film to maximize the beauty and visual power of landscape in film. For a summary of the 2015 exhibit, please click here: temple-u-2015-pfs-exhibit-portfolio-excerpt
The theme of the 2014 show was “ARTiculture.” We based our exhibit, “Tamanend’s track: The path to a portrayal of the past,” upon the concept of ecological restoration. We depicted our present-day, messy landscape experiences in the Tangle, a Retreat from our distracted lives to a place where plants, too, have sought refuge, and the Mend, where a damaged, degraded, or destroyed landscape is restored so that future generations may marvel at and depict Nature in art. For a summary of the 2014 exhibit, please click here: 2014-phs-phila-flower-show-exhibit_portfolio-excerpt
The theme of the 2013 show was “Brilliant.” Our exhibit was called “WILDE! Cultivating wonder in everyday places.” Medieval English gardens and William Robinson’s concept of wild gardening served as the basis of our exhibit, and included contemporary interpretations of a rockery, bog garden, and orchard. For a summary of the 2013 exhibit, please click here: 2013-phs-phila-flower-show_portfolio-excerpt
The theme of the 2012 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show was “Islands of Aloha.” Our exhibit was called “aloha aina: a return to life with the land,” inspired by the ancient Hawaiian land system, ahupuaa, and organized into cultivated, woodland, and rain gardens. For a summary of the 2012 exhibit, please click here: 2012-pifs-portfolio-excerpt