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Media Analysis

Estelle E. Bayer

April 21, 2002

I would like to speak about an expression of art; not of art using a medium on canvas, but nevertheless, expressions of color, interpretation and meaning, in gardening.

Specifically, I am referring to the Philadelphia Flower Show and its participants. After reading about the Flower Show and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, I see many correlations to cultic practice and ritual.

The Philadelphia Flower Show is the oldest flower show in the United States and the largest indoor flower show in the world attracting more than 250,000 visitors annually from across the country and the world. There are more than 2,000 examples of plants, collections, designs and flower arrangements in its Competitive Class division. This massive display takes 10 acres of the Philadelphia Convention Center. Amateurs from throughout the world enter their creations into a competition that is judged with great scrutiny.

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This show is not just for professionals; more than 300 free presentations are conducted daily to bring the show more “down to earth” for home gardeners.

This year presenters came to the Flower Show from England, Canada, and as far away as New Zealand. There were over 500,000 flowers in bloom at any one time, and displays that range from a single vase to a 7,000 square foot exhibit featuring a Victorian house. The displays range from roots, Bonsai trees, cacti, and African Violets to fully-grown trees and waterfalls.

It takes a special person to prepare for the show. This person has to be disciplined, focused and able to work under extreme pressure. In order to follow the strict criteria towards being a medal winner, certain rituals must be followed. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society helps to instill these rituals in their members. Members meet semi-monthly to discuss a show nearly a year away. Plans are set for display arrangements, even making sure that the presenter next to you has a display that will soften the eye as it blends towards yours. Raising healthy specimens is discussed in depth and keeping small pests away from plants is usually foremost on the agenda. These members pour over manuals like most people pick up a newspaper to

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view the day’s events. They have remedies to prevent and cure every fungus, disease and brown-edge leaf on any variety of blooms.

The members are more than just serious gardeners. They are designers, inventors and artists. They name their creations such names as Circle of Life, Freefall, Crest of the Moon, and Stillwater to name a few. Certainly, cultist! Their presentations represent themselves, the world, even life itself. One artist speaks of his creation as a circle representing birth and rebirth, birth and rebirth… because the garden never dies but recreates itself.

Members of the society work in harmony, working not just for individual recognition but collaborative recognition of the society. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in 1827, and is the oldest and foremost organization of its kind. The mission of the PHS is to motivate people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.

There is one main impact that the PHS (in its cultist’s ways) has on our community. For the past 23 years the Society has supported one of its outreach programs, an organization called Philadelphia Green. This

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is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive urban greening program, reaching out to all areas of the City by working with organized community groups on neighborhood greening projects and working with public agencies and private corporations for greening improvements in highly visible public areas. This year a $1 million grant was awarded for over four years to continue a parks revitalization project. With additional funding from other trusts, and private sources, Philadelphia Green provides plants, materials and technical assistance to more than 700 organized community groups who help keep Philadelphia green year round. The staff helps neighborhood residents transform trash-strewn vacant lots into community gardens and turn barren blocks into tree-lined streets. The program has worked on more than 2,000 projects, which include large neighborhood parks, small sitting parks, and vegetable and flower gardens.

Cultist ways and rituals working towards a beautiful and artistic goal for all.

Works Cited

Philadelphia Flower Show 2002, The Pleasures of the Garden. http://philadelphia.about.com/library/weekly/aa012002

PA DCRN, The Resource. April 1999,

http://www.dcrn.state.pa.us/ploycom/apr/phillyflowershow