Hollywood Is Flower Show’s Theme
You don’t have to wait to view the
Academy Awards on television this
year, you can see them at the Philadelphia International Flower Show which
runs from Feb. 28 until March 8.
That is, the Academy Awards of plants.
Williamson’s exhibit this year, in keeping with the show’s Hollywood theme
of “Lights. Camera. Bloom.,” is entitled
“The Academy Awards of Plants” and
will depict a movie awards program
with moving spot lights, a red carpet,
and Oscar statues.
The exhibit, which will be in the main
exhibit hall, will highlight outstanding
plants that are hardy to the Philadelphia
area. Visitors will be educated about superior woody, annuals, and perennials
they can use in their own landscapes.
The plants will be chosen for their
eye-appeal, performance, and hardiness in our local growing area. Awardwinning plants will be chosen in three
categories:
Philadelphia Horticulture Society
Gold Medal Plants, exhibiting outstanding horticultural and aesthetic appeal;
All-American Selections, plants
which have been tested by an independent, nonprofit organization that introduces only the best garden performers;
Royal Horticulture Society Award of
Garden Merit, which gives a seal of ap-
proval that plants perform reliably in a
garden after judging by plant expert forums and advisory groups.
Each award-wining plant in the exhibit will be labeled with a description
of uses in the landscape, bloom time,
fall color, soil type, whether it grows in
sun or shade, and overall performance.
A miniature Oscar statue will be next
to each with such designations as “Best
Evergreen” and “Best Shade Plant.”
Like all award shows, Williamson’s
will have a red carpet, made of red salvia, and theatrical spot lights moving
back and forth. There will be stanchions
with vines instead of ropes, to keep the
crowds back.
There also will be a movie magazine,
similar to People, offering such plant
gossip as “A chrysanthemum was seen
out on the town with a rose.”
Several panels will offer information
to educate the public about the plants
used in the exhibit.
As with all Flower Show exhibits,
this one is getting help from Williamson’s carpenters, who are constructing
frames for the panels and two 10-feet
high wood cutouts depicting gold statues with the words, “The Oscars,” and
all of the wood objects will be painted
by painters.
Exhibitors in the education category,
An Energy Island Review:
From Trustee Dick Storm 6W2
The Energy Island has been a dream
since 1991 when Brian Ott performed
the first design study of generating
equipment to power the core campus.
In 2010, our engineers and Brian and
his father, Tom Ott, started the drawings and equipment sizing for the proposed Energy Island. We completed the
conceptual engineering and equipment
specifications in 2011.
The project cost was estimated at $3.5
million for the new generators, steam
turbine, controls, and boiler upgrades
and, in 2013, fund-raising efforts began.
In 2014, grants were received from the
Connelly Foundation, the George Alden Trust, the Dominion Foundation,
and others. T