Dateline: 3.4.15 – Reporting in from our book tour to Philadelphia with our unique perspective – as usual! Here is our review of the garden event of the year, the best in the country, the Philadelphia Flower Show that is! It’s still on until March 8, 2015.
Miniature Garden Settings Exhibits
The Miniature Garden Settings Exhibits is a series of 10 dioramas set into window boxes built into walls for easy viewing. Despite the long list of the parameters that everyone has to work within, the exhibits vary in skill, vision and expertise. Every year there is at least a few great ideas and “wow” scenes that keep us coming back for more.
The organizers, Ron Hess & Louise Krasniewicz, spend countless and thankless hours finding new artists to participate, helping with the progress of the exhibits, blogging to keep everyone updated, promoting the exhibit throughout the year, and organizing and maintaining the main event during the show. That statement alone made me tired. Lol! Thank you Ron, Katy, Louise and the rest of the artists for a great show!
Here are a few of the exhibits below. Most of my photos I took at the wrong time of day, when the hall lights were on and the glares in the windows really got in the way. Thankfully I was able to get most of the plant-based exhibits photographed. Louise has much better photos of all the exhibits up in her blog, the drama class and the fantasy class.
Click to enlarge the photos!
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Louise Krasniewicz
Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Pamela Goldman
An Affair to Remember, Lucille Dickerson
Enchanted April, Cathy Bandoian
I will be going into greater detail with Louise’s Rear Window display. You can find the rest of the photos of the exhibits on Dr. K’s Miniature Settings Exhibit blog:
- Gone with the Wind, Beverly Sue Palaia
- Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Mary Ciccolella
- Little Shop of Horrors, Ronny Smith and Chris Bogs
- ET Goes Home, Randiee Wismer’s Dream Team of the Norristown Garden Club
- Sleeping Beauty, Lori Anne Currall
- Lady and the Tramp, Kathy Bright, Sheri Sullivan, Ron Sullivan
More than Just Miniatures!
There were miniature gardens throughout the show this year too – so much more than last year! Most of the vendors just had the accessories for sale, a couple of vendors stood out as favorites, which they really couldn’t help, we’ve been following their work for years. Here’s more of our review of the best garden show in the country:
Miniature Water Gardens – Plantarias
More on this in a future blog! Robert Dekkers has been working on this ingenious approach to miniature gardening for a few years now. He calls them water gardens because they have the world’s cutest rock waterfall and stream running through each one. His plantarias are a fully contained, self-watering miniature garden that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own living room. A great idea for lobbies, waiting rooms and restaurants too – it exudes the tranquility and peacefulness similar to an aquarium! The irrigation is on automatic, the lights are the right balance for the trees and plants, the entire hutch is self-contained and made for indoors. I wonder how much shipping is to Seattle? Robert is based in the NY / NJ area. Connect with him here.
Twig Terrariums
These are the gals that started the mossy-mini terrarium trend, Twig Terrariums – now closed. They put tiny HO scaled miniature people into mossy terrariums and instantly created a completely different world. It’s fun to see their creations up close and personal at the show. They have an online store, and a popular book on their work. Find them here.
More on the Philadelphia trip to come!
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Reblogged this on Edward's Garden Center and commented:
Adorable miniature gardens at the Philadelphia Flower show! Great post with photos =)
The miniature garden displays are always my favorite part of the flower show. I try to stay late so I can see them when it’s not so crowded and I don’t have to rush through. They were fabulous this year (as always).