The Gardener’s Studio is the place where serious gardeners gather hourly at the Philadelphia Flower Show to find ways of making their green thumbs a little bit greener.
Every year, gardening experts from around the country, top-selling authors and local horticultural gurus come to share their expertise with Flower Show visitors.
“People love to come to the Flower Show because it’s number one in the country and this is where they can learn from people who are all experts on their topics,” explains the Gardener’s Studio manager Barbara “Barley” Van Clief.
“We get about 100 people who come to [participate as] speakers, some of whom are book authors who will do a book signing afterwards,” she says. “We have these experts there, but it’s not just a presentation. There’s an opportunity for people to ask questions. If you’re in the audience, you have the chance to raise your hand and ask about your situation: ‘I had these bulbs that were wonderful the first year but it never came back. Can you tell me what I did wrong?'”
There are 85 topics scheduled this year, with each session lasting about 45 minutes.
Visitors can see the list of topics at the information booths and posted on the show’s site, theflowershow.com.
Although virtually every topic under the sun and in the garden has been covered over the years, Flower Show folks reached out to visitors at the end of the 2016 show to find out which topics they’d like to see discussed next time around.
“Container gardening was a topic many people voted for,” Van Clief says.
And so the Gardener’s Studio has invited award-winning designer Deborah Trickett of The Captured Garden to share her thoughts on “Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, Get-Your-Neighbors-Talking Containers,” March 16 at 11 a.m.
Trickett captivates her audience’s imagination by asking, “Have you always wanted to create lush container gardens that would be the envy of the neighborhood but didn’t know where to start?”
If you’re ready to “move beyond the expected,” Trickett promises to show you how to take your container gardens from “blah” to “aaah.”
At 1 p.m. March 14, Meadowbrook Farm head gardener Glenn Ashton will discuss the strategy for attracting the ruby-throated hummingbird to your garden all summer long and into the fall.
Ever consider “Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife” to your property?
On March 19 at 11 a.m., David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation, will offer advice on creating a natural garden filled with colorful birds and beautiful butterflies that becomes a part of your own ecosystem.
You’ll even learn how to get your yard recognized as a certified wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Several topics will echo the theme of the show, “Holland,” such as growing bulbs that captivate with their vibrant beauty year after year.
“Most people do think about bulbs when they think about Holland. It’s certainly one of their main product lines. The other thing with Holland is that it’s very cutting edge with regard to sustainability, so we’ll feature topics on that as well,” Van Clief says.
A perennial favorite Gardener’s Studio topic is the Gold Medal Plant program, which recognizes exceptional trees, shrubs, vines and perennials for the home gardener.
“These plants are selected for their beauty, reliability and ease of care. Their performance and hardiness in the Mid-Atlantic growing region, from New York to Washington, D.C., has been proven,” PHS President Matt Rader notes.
The Gold Medal program has honored and promoted woody plants of outstanding merit since 1979. Nominations for plants are submitted by home gardeners, garden designers, horticulturists, landscape architects, nursery owners and propagators. The program was originally conceived by noted nurseryman Dr. J. Franklin Styer, who realized homeowners and gardeners had a desire to learn about superior woody plants for their landscapes.
“It’s the same topic, but every year there are new plants introduced,” Van Clief says. “It’s a very popular topic because people want to know the most successful plants they can put in their gardens.”
