Prickly Cure for Cabin Fever

Chris Beytes

Proving that succulents really are trendy, attendees at the world-famous Philadelphia Flower Show spent as much time enjoying these spiny agaves and other prickly succulents as they did the show’s soft, colorful beds of bulbs, bedding plants and orchids. The display was part of “Hamilton Horticourt,” a section of the flower show where expert and amateur gardeners alike entered their pet plants for judging.

This was GrowerTalks’ first time attending the Philadelphia Flower Show, held February 28-March 8, and we were suitably impressed—not only by the scale of the event, but also by the size of the crowds (a quarter million folks, organizers say, up 10% from last year). Also impressive was the show’s broad demographic appeal: This was not an aging or snooty garden club crowd! This could have been a Philadelphia Phillies game for the range of ages, shapes and styles in attendance. Which to us says everybody likes flowers … especially at the end of a long, cold winter.

That was by design, as the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, organizer of the show since 1829, hoped to attract a more youthful audience. Hence, the show’s “Celebrate the Movies” theme (with an emphasis on Disney films) along with a pop-up beer garden. It worked: organizers say attendance among kids and students doubled. GT