What the Philly Flower Show Did to My Brain

I’ve been an artist all of my life.  Until just this past year, my love of plants seemed separate from my need to create visually.   I’ve recently begun to understand the tie between visual acumen and good plantsmanship.  Seeing the Philadelphia International Flower Show solidified a new mental union for me between cultivation and craft.

The exterior of "Box."

Right now, given the challenges to our environment and food security, horticulture as an art form is as vital and perhaps more important than many other forms.

If there is a preeminent canvas for horticulture art, the Philadelphia International Flower Show must be just that.   Amazing artistry, passion and dedication were palpable as I toured the site while final preparations were made Friday evening.

There is much I could tell you about the show. I could give you history and news and descriptions of what you’ll see there if you attend between now and March 7th.  All of that information can be just as easily found at the show’s website. If you’d like a tour, see my slideshow.

What I MUST tell you about, is the exhibit that invaded my brain.  One exhibit woke me intellectually and side-swiped  me creatively.

Artisians apply finishing touches to "Box"

As we approached MODA Botanica’s “Box” exhibit at the show, our engaging guide said, “This is an exhibit that people love or hate.”  He was right and I fall firmly onto the love side of that chasm.

The contrast of seeing rough, huge, metal railway container boxes stacked and spewing graffiti in the middle of the convention center, while surrounded by the most amazing beauty of the natural world was stunning.  My first thought was that the containers were storage areas for flowers and other supplies.

Then I really looked.  And my brain up-shifted to high gear.

I thought, “Of course! Container gardens.  How clever.”   Thoughts raced to the interest in the prefab housing design arena around recycling similar containers for housing.  I thought of my dear friend and sculptor Sullivan Strawser who’d mentioned an interest in containers just hours before at lunch.

Next,  the eco-gardener in me took the wheel to my brain waves.  I thought about the urban greening and community farming projects Philadelphia Green and City Harvest are involved in.  I thought of photographer Ross Mantle’s work documenting urban farms in Pittsburgh.  Urban growing situations often happen in the shadow of urban or industrial decay.  Beautiful plant life softens the landscape and sustains the human soul.  “Box” by Moda Botanica did just that for me.

For thirty years the Pennsylvania Horticultural Societies’ Philadelphia Green – and recently the urban vegetable growing program – City Harvest – have been improving lives by supporting the greening of Philadelphia.  All proceeds from the Flower show benefit Philadelphia Green.

Plant life is the key to rehabbing our industrial, urban planning and storm water management.  From green roofs to local food to urban farming, plants become the basis for our safely and security.  Plants restore the shells of abandoned industrial plants.  Natural life is the path from sterile lifeless steel to green beauty.   That’s what I saw in “Box.”

The contrast in “Box” is stunning in the most inspiring way.  The statement of the containers, which symbolize both industrialization and the theme of the show – travel and transportation – contrasted with the immeasurable interior beauty of an array of perfectly designed flora by MODA Botanica is brilliant.

In my own garden, I have been using hard modern steel in opposition to soft living plants without truly understanding why it appealed to me.

Anytime art can lead to understanding, it is very successful.