Philadelphia Flower Show opens at Pennsylvania Convention Center
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It's a sign that spring is on the way in the Delaware Valley - The Philadelphia Flower Show returns to Center City for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center is expected to bring about 250,000 people to the city.
There will also be a design gallery displaying floral-inspired art and jewelry and a marketplace with vendors as well.
The convention center's grand hall will be transformed into Bloom City with plenty of fun activities for kids, including a live butterfly experience.
This year's show motto is "The Garden Electric." Seth Pearsoll, the creative director of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, explains what it means.
"The Garden Electric is about that intense, beautiful moment when you see flowers or gardens, something so special, that you become 'flower struck.' It literally jolts you. That's what this show is about, celebratory, bold, over-the-top, florals. It will be amazing," he said.
Lessons learned from the last two years of the event at FDR Park, helped shaped this year's event.
"The last two years the world was crazy. Our themes were about healing, and you know the connection between plants and health this year we wanted to remind people that gardens and flowers could be a thing of celebration," Pearsoll said.
Hundreds of vibrant, award-winning plants make up more than 30 large-scale floral exhibits and they all surround the show's winding promenade pathway.
Organizers say each exhibit is a unique interpretation of this year's theme and their goal this year is to surround guests on all sides and create a fully immersive experience to mimic the feeling of being outdoors in nature.
"I've been wanting to see the butterflies," Giovanni Navarro said. The 6-year-old from Mount Laurel came for the first time to the flower show with his family Saturday.
He and thousands of others – some masked, some not - enjoyed everything from a live butterfly experience in "bloom city" to a bustling marketplace on opening day.
Many people who have made the event a tradition – tell CBS News Philadelphia they skipped out throughout the pandemic – and just returned this year.
"It's really exciting and I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying being with friends. I'm enjoying being with so many people," Shirley Crmino from Brooklyn said. She came with friends to the flower show.
Pearsoll knows about the high expectations people have when visiting the Flower Show and he says organizers like that visitors expect big things. He says the layout of the show has been completely redone with new exhibitors and new flower experiences.
There are also competitions that will include local professional and amateur gardeners.
CBS News Philadelphia spoke with one of the vendors at the show.
Matt Rader, president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, says that the indoor show allows for more spectacular arrangements compared to the last few years when the show was held outdoors.
The show invites visitors from Saturday until March 12 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets and more information are available on their website.
SEPTA is making it easier for you to get to the Flower Show. There's going to be extra regional rail service for the show this weekend and next. And, you can pick up your Flower Show tickets at all SEPTA sales locations.