Celebrate the life-sustaining interplay of horticulture and water when Adkins Arboretum hosts a bus trip to the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show on Mon., March 5. With the theme “Wonders of Water,” the Flower Show will showcase beauty and environmental issues through exhibits ranging from rain forests to rain gardens.
America’s leading floral and garden designers will create tropical jungles, temperate forests, native woodlands and arid landscapes, all highlighting the astounding plants that thrive in each environment—from exquisite orchids and flowering vines to luminescent desert blooms. Guests will enter the Flower Show under a canopy of exotic flowers to marvel at a modernistic multilevel bamboo waterfall. Inspired by the planet’s magnificent rain forests, the Entrance Garden will pay homage to these astonishing and varied ecosystems with towering trees and tiny mosses, creeping vines and wide-spreading ferns, withering leaves and a living roof of green, and colorful flowers in myriad textures. An ever-shifting rain curtain will guide visitors over a “suspended” rope bridge.
Gardeners of all skill levels will find water-wise concepts, including rain gardens and xeriscaping, plant-your-own experiences and ideas they can use in their own home environments, from small urban spaces to expansive landscapes. A new attraction, “America’s Backyard,” will offer smart ideas for outdoor living and conservation tips for the home garden. Guests can also create their own mini-water garden and interact with the delicate inhabitants of “Butterflies Live.” Special features will explore innovative ways green infrastructure is used to protect and conserve our water sources.
Tickets are $95 for Arboretum members, $120 for non-members and include transportation, driver gratuity and admission to the Flower Show. The bus departs from Aurora Park Drive in Easton at 9 a.m. with additional stops at the westbound Route 50/Route 404 Park and Ride at 9:20 a.m. and the Route 301/Route 291 Park and Ride in Millington at 9:45 a.m. Return time is approximately 8 p.m.
The nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event, the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show features stunning displays by the world’s premier floral and landscape designers. Started in 1829 by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the show introduces diverse and sustainable plant varieties and garden and design concepts. It has been honored as the best event in the world by the International Festivals & Events Association, competing with such events as the Kentucky Derby Parade, Tournament of Roses Parade and Indianapolis 500 Festival. Proceeds from the Flower Show benefit the year-round programs of PHS that have become national models of urban greening.
Advance registration is required by Fri., Feb. 9. To register, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410.634.2847, ext. 0.
Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum is the region’s resource for native plants and education programs about nature, ecology and wildlife conservation gardening. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.
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