Women play big role in garden design for Philadelphia Flower Show 2022

More women than ever before are designing major exhibits for the 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show, set for June 11 to 19.

The nationally recognized annual event will be held outdoors for the second year in a row.

Of the 40 major exhibitors planned for this year’s “In Full Bloom Show” at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park (FDR) in South Philadelphia, 13 are women-owned businesses. And women are lead designers for at least six others, which means women are designing nearly half the show this year.

There also are seven major exhibitors from New Jersey. Among them is Jennifer Designs of Mullica Hill, whose display will be called “Rhythm in Bloom.” And bring your dancing shoes!

Jennifer Reed, owner and professional floral designer, will fashion “The Bloom Room,” a floral dance club where visitors may dance to music played by a DJ sculptured in flowers and set amonglive, freshly cut and dried floral blossoms and greenery including orchids, ferns and palms.

Reed said she was inspired by this year’s flower show theme to create an exhibit that invokes feeling and movement.

“As human beings, we are not so unlike our chlorophyll-loving companions, We can perceive and react to light, scent, touch and sound,” said Reed, who also is a floral educator at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

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“To truly immerse yourself in a design you need to invoke all five senses, which is exactly what our Bloom Room does,” she explained. “We are asking our guests to come on the dance floor so they, too, can ‘bloom’ to the rhythm with the harmonious colors, music and flowers.”

The designer lineup will be larger than in previous years with 40 major exhibitors creating designs for large-scale gardens between 900 and 2,500 square feet for the annual show presented by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).

The 2022 Flower Show will take over 15 acres of Roosevelt Park at 1500 Pattison Ave. in South Philadelphia.

“This year’s show features an eclectic mix of award-winning, world-class designers, including more female-led firms designing major exhibits than ever before, creating half of the spectacular, show-stopping gardens for which the show is known,” PHS said in its latest press announcement.

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“The Flower Show will shed light on the incredible achievements of women in the field of landscape and garden design with stunning and thought-provoking displays that explore the restorative power of nature and plants, as well as the importance of mental and emotional health that contribute to a person also being ‘in full bloom.’ “

In addition to the major exhibits, dozens of smaller gardens of up to 900 square feet will feature educational gardens and competitive classes. Amateur gardeners and plant societies are invited to create themed gardens which can serve to inspire visitors to explore the world of horticulture — and get their hands dirty

Among the exhibitors is renowned landscape architect Martha Schwartz, of New York City, and a Forbes 2021 “50 Over 50” recipient. She will debut a garden with a giant floral mushroom.

Landscape architect Wambui Ippolito of Staten Island also will return to defend her 2021 Flower Show trophy for Best In Show.One of Veranda magazine’s 2021 “Eleven Revolutionary Female Landscape Designers and Architects You Should Know,” Ippolito plans a spiraling structure rimmed with colorful florals with a reflection pool for peaceful meditation.

Other exhibits will feature a floral tunnel, as well as floral hairstyles and silhouettes.

This year’s Flower Show also will feature a food bazaar, native butterflies, a new area for children and families called the Kids’ Cocoon and Play Space, a floral path through the show, and more seating than last year.

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“We want designers who are firmly rooted in horticulture and great plant design, but who also are thinking about culture at large and how these designs relate to those issues. We want guests to be moved and delighted and to be changed, in some small way, by these gardens and the ideas behind them.” said Seth Pearsoll, PHS director of design.

Other major exhibitors from New Jersey include: Arrange; Floral and Event Design of Haddonfield; Shaffer Designs of Pennsauken; Mercer County Community College; Fate Urbane of Pennnington; Polycarp Flowers of Summit, and Susan Cohan Gardens of Boonton.

Go: The 2022 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show will run June 11 to 19 at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, 1500 Pattison Ave., Philadelphia. For a full list of exhibitors and more information visit PHSonline.org/the-flower-show.

Carol Comegno loves telling stories about South Jersey life, history and military veterans for the Courier Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. If you have a story to share, call her at 856-486-2473 or email [email protected].

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