Visitors swarm Flower Show’s opening day to get an early taste of spring

It’s been only a month since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter, but inside a cavernous exhibit space at the Convention Center spring has sprung dramatically in an explosion of colors.

The annual Philadelphia Flower Show ― the 196th rendition — organized by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society opened Saturday, and the crowds didn’t waste any time soaking in the beauty of flowers, butterflies, and grandiose arrangements.

“It’s what’s to come in a couple of weeks — spring,” said Terri Snipes, 63, of Willingboro.

Snipes and her adult daughter were admiring a prizewinning “floris hekker,” a type of hippeastrum with bold red flowers. The displays gave both inspiration for their own gardens.

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The theme of the year’s show is “Gardens of Tomorrow,” which the PHS website describes as allowing visitors to see “the future through the eyes of visionary designers, expert gardeners, and passionate green enthusiasts as they merge nature’s brilliance with human ingenuity.”

For some visitors, the flower show is a respite from day-to-day life and the tumultuous news cycle.

Bob Markey, 77, and Pat Marlinski, 70, of Rahway, N.J. , said the Flower Show is an opportunity to unplug from what they view as the “craziness” of national politics. And they see the show as a vehicle for celebrating things that unite people from different backgrounds around the beauty of nature.

“Nature cuts through all the differences that we perceive,” Markey said. “No doubt you have MAGAs walking around, you have liberals, and you’ve got Black people and white people.”

The duo were standing in front of an exhibit in the show’s main hall that highlighted roots, the parts of plants that are usually unseen because they are underground.

“It’s just spectacular,” Marlinski said. “Look at all the work that went into this. Live huge trees. It’s just amazing to me.”

There was indeed a certain unity among the show’s visitors, at least when it comes to headwear. Those who opted out of wearing an Eagles or Phillies cap were rocking a flower crown, which PHS sells.

Among those with a flower crown was Jen Johns, 41, who drove about 140 miles Saturday morning to Philadelphia from her home in Newville, Cumberland County. After a cold and dreary February — only two clear days out her way, one in Philly — Johns came to get a taste of spring.

“It’s just nice to see beautiful, colorful things and fresh foliage,” she said. “It’s exciting to see growth.”

Johns wasn’t there only for herself. Her grandmother, who is in her 80s, lives in Western Pennsylvania and can’t make it to the show, but always wanted to.

“I try to take lots and lots of pictures for her so she can experience it,” Johns said.

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The side attractions to the main show include the Butterflies Live! interactive exhibit, a kid play area, expert lectures about gardening, and shops.

Jasmine Catledge, 34, of South Jersey, brought her 4-year-old daughter with her after seeing all the kid-friendly activities at last year’s show.

“I love all the displays,” she said as her daughter stood on her toes to see an exhibit. “Absolutely stunning.”

The potting party, a gardening lesson taught by Tu Bloom, who is in charge of the floral arrangements at the Grammys, is a favorite for Elena Dickstein and her friends from Mountain Top, Pa., outside Wilkes-Barre.This is the third year in which she participated in the class.

“We just learn so much every year,” Dickstein said.

The class is also an opportunity to take a break from walking around the show and process the exhibits, she said. This year’s class taught attendees how to arrange three plants — dark leaf hydrangea, purple senetti flowers, and purple and white top wave pansy flowers — in a compostable planting bag.

The enthusiasm of the planters was palpable.

“You guys ready to plant?” Bloom exclaimed at the beginning of the lesson.

“Yeah!” the crowd responded with vigor that would have fit in at the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade.

“He’s so much fun and has so much energy,” Dickstein said of Bloom. “It’s a good time.”