Carl,
Now I am feeling a little guilty for twisting your arm but at the same time I am thrilled at your offer to be our guide! I saw this post and immediately started looking at accommodations as this is far enough away that it is more than a day trip for me. If anyone else is interested I will share what I discover re cost/convenience for travel (plane,train,car) and accommodations. Oops my battery is dying more later.

I'm in! I missed everything last year - even Hartford, so I am SO ready!

Before dtd became too busy while away on a work trip I was able to contact her about the show and Carl's generous offer. She is interested as well and like myself is looking to stay in Philly for a few days.
Carl are there particular days that you would recommend over others?

As a general rule, weekdays are best; the opening Sunday is a virtual mob
scene. . .the one exception to the "avoid weekends" rule happens to be the
EARLY hours of the final Sunday - this was a tip passed on to me by a fellow
PHS member who had worked the show for decades, and, when I tried her
suggestion (dubious, to be sure!), I was stunned to find myself practically
alone on the show floor from the 8:00 am opening 'til nearly 10:30 am.
Know that weekdays will be more crowded from opening (10:00am) until
nearly 4:00pm (there are scads of bus tours which come in for the mid-day
hours). . .AFTER 4:00pm, it quiets down significantly, and just keeps getting quieter right up until closing at 9:30pm. If you're planning a multi-day trip,
that's 5-1/2 hours from 4-9:30, for a two-day total of 11 hours. . .for years, I did the one-day shot, and let me tell you, it's brutal - now, I do at least two days, and sometimes "work" the show (for PHS) another day.

By the way, if you checked The Flower Show site, you'll note that you can actually buy (and print!) your tickets online, for a nominal extra $1.00 fee -
sure beats standing in line. Very wisely (from PHS point of you), there are
virtually NO discounts or deals of any kind. . .so I cannot offer any !

Next question?

Carl

Carl,
I am not complaining but in my attempt to narrow down dates I was looking at the lectures and was surprised by the lack of big names. Am I missing something?

Interesting question - there is SO much to see and do at the Philadelphia show
that it would never even occur to me to go to a lecture. . .but after checking
their site more closely, you're right - no prominent names on the lecture schedule (and there certainly have been in the past!). I have a call in to PHS
to see if someone there can shed any light on this subject.

While I do enjoy an interesting lecture as much as the next gardener, perhaps
I'm just spoiled because I have access to several continuing series each year
at PHS, The NY Botanical Garden and The Brooklyn BG. I'll let you know what
I find out. . .

Talks at flower shows are a great way to get off your feet for an hour and relax while you hear something interesting and to meet some of the 'celebrities' of the garden world.

I'd like to see Ethne Clarke speak on Hidcote on Sunday, February 28th, 10:30; her books are wonderful. Dan Hinkley's always fun, he's talking the next day at 10:20, on 'Shrubs and Vines from Four Corners of the World' although we've probably all seen him more than once.

There are a couple of talks about Ireland and its gardens, which I think would be a good bet for those of us (you know who you are) who are thinking we'll get over there for a garden tour some time 'real soon' - maybe if we go listen to one or 2 of those talks, we'll get ourselves in gear and set up a trip.

Although I understand that this Sunday is going to be mobbed, that turns out to be the best day as far as my schedule goes.

Carl, have you ever gone to the preview party? That's another option I'm looking at. Otherwise, it's Sunday and crowds. I'm still vacillating between trying to think of an excuse not to go and being wildly excited about the whole thing. I'll try to remember to take photos, which I completely failed to do this year at Providence (I guess it may be too crowded, anyway...).

Yes, I'm excited!

About the Preview Party: unless you're a member of the DuPont or Rockefellar
clans, you might find the admission fee of $325. a bit daunting. . .especially,
if you wanted some real time to look at things - you only get two hours from
6:00-8:00pm, prior to dinner (only $25. more!). The vast marketplace would
be completely closed (not the major reason for attending, of course!), and the
distinct ambience of everyone in black tie, clutching cocktails, somehow leaves this gardener cold - not that I haven't strolled through my own garden with my glass of wine or flute of champagne in hand! - but you get what I mean. Cameras, I fear, would be considered too gauche for words. . .

Given your schedule constraints, if Sundays are best for you, consider the
closing Sunday instead. . .as I pointed out above, those first few hours after opening were complete heaven - and I'll be doing it again this year! I stopped taking photos a number of years ago, when none of the photos ever
seemed to please me - then, I realized that it's all the theatrical lighting they
use that was spoiling my shots, lots of unnatural color washes and stuff like
mercury vapor lamps that don't seem to "read" well on film.

A couple of weeks ago, I got to tour Meadowbrook Farms where more than
65% of the plant material for the Show is produced, in eighteen greenhouses.
Man, am I psyched and ready ! Enjoy your visit. . .

Carl

Just back from Philly, and I have to say it was a great trip. The show was no more crowded than Boston used to be, which, to be honest, is to say it was packed.

I only made it to one talk, Ethne Clark speaking about the development of Hidcote. The focus was not on plants or, particularly, on design, although she did talk about the tension between gardening factions touting natural vs formal design at the time Hidcote was being developed.

Mainly, she spoke (and has written) about the founder, Lawrence Johnston, an expat American (as she is herself). All in all, it was interesting for me, because I'm fascinated by these personalities, and very boring for my sister, who is a great gardener but doesn't care about dead plantsmen very much.

The exhibits were over the top. I especially liked a section dedicated to porches and window boxes. Skipped the flower arranging sections as much as possible, although there were some large-scale installations that were unlike anything I've seen before. Lots of real estate dedicated to the theme of the show, gardens of different countries. Most of that was fun to look at; some of it was inspiring and some was so far from anything apropos Northeast US gardens - like the Indian wedding garden - that I'm not sure yet just what I took away from it.

For a change, I didn't come home with a list of plants I must try, other than a salvia Clark mentioned; I guess that's because there was too much to see, but maybe also partly because, in many of the gardens, I couldn't relate what I was looking at to what I work with at home.

I took Amtrak down and back, actually just to my sister's - she lives in Mendham, not too far from Philly. After the show we went across the street to the Reading Terminal Market - a MUCH better place to get lunch, or good anytime if you happen to be in Philly.

It was a great show - I'm glad I went. If you have a chance, DO GO!