Philadelphia Flower Show

Brilliant! The Philadelphia Flower Show returns this weekend with lots of tea, crumpets, royalty and a guaranteed fun. From March 2-10, the Philadelphia Flower Show 2013 will transport you to Great Britain from the convenience of the PA Convention Center. A benefit produced by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, all proceeds feed back into local efforts to "garden, green & educate". Since 1829, the world's largest indoor flower show brings beauty to our lovely (yet often dirty...) city. This year's new features include opening a day early (Saturday vs the typical Sunday), an enhanced Flower Show Smartphone App, and a "Make & Take" room complete with opportunities to create your own British 'fascinator' or floral wristlet. We checked out the Media "Sneak Peek" of the Flower Show eve last minute preparations. As a former EXPAT in London, I was psyched to check out this year's theme. And for you our readers, we have a few of the fabulous 2013 Flower Show scenes for you:

As the Philadelphia International Flower Show kicked off their Hawaii: Islands of Aloha to the public on Sunday, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's President Drew Becher is pretty much Philadelphia's man of the week.  Last year's Flower Show brought in $61 million to the Philly region and enhanced local programs like Plant One Million.  Luckily, we were able to sit down with Drew for a few minutes to chat about the Drew's favorite exhibit at the Flower Show, PHS's wins & challenges to greenify Philadelphia, and Drew's secret 'green' habit he's been practicing since age 10. (Read the full interview after the jump!)

While we've previously given you advice to green your valentine's day, here's another tradition to consider: flowers. Our advice? Ditch the roses. Valentine's Day roses are not only pricey, but often come with hefty carbon footprints after being flown from far distances, having  been plucked from pesticide-filled fields.  There's nothing  that says "I love you"  more than chemicals filling one's nostrils on a romantic holiday, right? Instead, (find out more, after the jump!)

The Philadelphia Flower Show gained some street cred on SNL. In the clip, Golden Globe host Ricky Gervais (played by Jason Sudeikis) hassles a plant. See the clip on the Flower Show Website here. (Clearly we don't care, but there's disclaimers. So we'll repeat. Please note: this video contains content that may not be suitable for all audiences.) Don't worry, Philly's not the only target - "Gervais" also insults Kids’ Choice Awards, The Westminster Dog Show, & the BET Music Awards.

Want the best of the tropics with a twist of mad-artist-cutting-off-his-ear? The Philadelphia Flower Show's escape to "Hawaii: Islands of Aloha" is far off (March 4-11), but tempting us with early sales combined with the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Van Gogh Up Close collaboration. Depending on your price range and what you want, the packages differ. Here's a breakdown of how you can get the most bang for your buck:

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society recently decorated the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with Carousel animals that starred in the 2011 Philadelphia International Flower Show. 9 creatures – including a peacock, camel, rabbit, snail, butterfly, dragonfly, and unicorn; were created with brought to life with a variety of plant materials - primarily with moss and coconut bark – for their re-animation that would (find out more, after the jump!)

On a sidenote, this marks Green Philly Blog's 400th Post! Thanks for reading, whether it's your first visit or 400th ;-) We appreciate all the continued & amazing support. Hope you had a chance to visit the 2011 Philadelphia International Flower Show this past week, which benefited the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society! PHS announced the Plant One Million campaign during the show, an initiative that will plant 1 MILLION trees in 13 counties in Greater Philadelphia Region, New Jersey & Delaware. The campaign will improve the environment, create jobs, strengthen communities & improve air/water quality. This campaign helps to (find out more about this amazing campaign, after the jump!)

Get excited all you plant fanatics & flower enthusiasts... The 2011 Philadelphia International Flower Show is here March 6-13th! From the moment I walked into Philly's Convention Center during the writer's preview, the glorious smell of Springtime overwhelmed my senses... (which was quite a delight after my rendezvous in beautiful Clearwater weather last weekend). As I immediately saw the base of the Eiffel Tower and nearby Carousel, I was practically unaware we were still in Philly! Philadelphia's theme "Springtime in Paris" captures the essence of the city of lights, allowing visitors to enter a whole new, huge world of gorgeous flower displays & incredible settings. Did you know Philadelphia's is the largest indoor Flower Show in the world? It's consistently ranked as America's Top 100 events and is in the guide 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die. Think I'm exaggerating? Just take a sneak peak at the show (and find out way more news, after the jump!):