Lights, Cameras, Bloom! The curtain has gone up on the 2015
Philadelphia Flower Show, with this year's theme "Celebrate the Movies." The glitz and glamor of Hollywood
has transformed the Pennsylvania Convention
Center into a studio backlot now through March 8th. Acres of gardens pay tribute to films
inspired by Disney and Disney-Pixar. Make
no mistake about this presentation of flowers, gardens and shrubs, oh my, it is
in no way sponsored by The Walt Disney Company but rather only inspired by the
films of the House of the Mouse.
It is never an easy feat to stage a spectacular the size of
the Philadelphia Flower Show and it is equally challenging to select a theme
that is going to attract record crowds to Center
City especially when the calendar
says winter and people are looking for signs of spring. But with this year's family friendly movies-inspired-by
Disney theme, fans of all ages are likely to turn out in record numbers, so
much so you have to wonder if officials consulted with Disney
Parks and Resorts on how to keep
the lines moving.
It is surprising that it has taken so long to stage a motion
picture theme or specifically a Disney inspired flower show especially when
considering some of the key players behind the scenes. One of the major media sponsors of the event
is WPVI-TV, a Disney owned and operated television station in Philadelphia. A major player for the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society, which stages the Flower Show, is Sam Lemheney, who
directs the planning and creation of the show.
Lemheney started his career at the Walt Disney Company in 1989
as an intern at the Land Horticultural Science Program and began full-time
employment as a cast member at Disney in 1991.
He ultimately became the Area Manager of the Epcot International Flower
and Garden Festival, managing the combined talents and energy of Disney's
entire horticultural staff, organizing and coordinating the transformation of
the award-winning gardens of Epcot into one of the most exciting flower garden
events in the country.
But given the huge success of the Epcot International Flower
Show, it would have been easy to just borrow ideas from the Orlando
theme park, but the Horticultural Society wanted to showcase unique floral
arrangements and displays and not copy or duplicate ideas. Therefore designers for this year's
extravaganza are showcasing their distinct style and interpretation of classic
and contemporary films.
For instance Mark Cook of Mark Cook Landscape Contracting in
Doylestown has tapped into the "Pirates of the Caribbean," complete with huge
evergreens, spring bulbs and tropical plants to help what Cook describes is a
dramatic high-seas Caribbean voyage. "We're
creating an inspirational concept of set-pieces from the movie," Cook explains,
"not re-creating a scene or a character from the film."
The world of Disney-Pixar's Radiator Springs blossoms to
life in an exhibit by Burke Brothers of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. Designer Kali Smalley says the living exhibit
focuses on a rustic workplace, more a
garage than an office, surrounded by a garden of flowers, plants, rundown autos
with greenery sprouting in an out of them and car parts.
The wildly awarded Stoney Bank Nurseries of Glen Mills, PA
is using "Mulan" as the backdrop for its inspirational Chinese garden at this
year's Flower Show. Jack Blandy of
Stoney Brook says their exhibit features "plants from China and other parts of Asia,"
like the Chinese bonsai carefully pruned and shaped to enhance the display.
Other Disney classics on the vine for the show include "Fantasia,"
"Peter Pan," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Mary Poppins," and "Cinderella."