With March 2017’s Holland: Flowering the World, the legendary Philadelphia Flower Show once again thrilled visitors who, in recent years, saw the event celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service (2016’s Explore America), contemplating cinematic displays dedicated to famous films (2015’s Celebrate the Movies), and connecting the dots between art and plants (2014’s ARTiculture).
The Philadelphia Flower Show is presented annually by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). This year highlighted Holland’s signature flower, from its dazzling tulip-filled entrance garden with 5,000 flowers, to important moments such as the presentation of the specially bred Philly Belle Tulips (a red beauty gifted to the city of Philadelphia from the Royal Netherlands Embassy), to scaled down displays of miniature topiary set pieces filled with tiny tulips and clinging foliage.
Of course, tulips aren’t Holland’s only claim to fame: the Dutch have long been leaders in the horticultural industry as breeders and suppliers of all manner of plant materials (bulbs, trees, roots, etc.), and the show didn’t focus solely on flowers. As always, the Philadelphia Flower Show presented a wide range of plants, experts were available to answer questions, and there were numerous booths for shopping.
