Mini Me!

Another of our favorite displays at the Philadelphia Flower Show was the miniature landscape competition. All the entries were dioramas made with baby versions of plants like agave, thyme, bean sprouts, cedars, baby's breath, and Joseph's Coat.

Philly Flower Show Florist Display

One of the things about the Philadelphia Flower Show this year was that all of the displays were "Garden at Night" themed, and it was so dark, we couldn't see anything! We walked around squinting at the plants, stubbing our toes, and cursing for someone to turn the lights on!

But this florist's display was very dramatic.






Sexy, right?

Philadelphia Flower Show Orchid Competitions

"The Philadelphia Flower Show is a sight to behold, taking visitors from Winter to Spring as they step into a wonderland of gardens, plants, and floral designs. Billed as the world’s largest indoor flower exhibit and the oldest (1829) in the nation, the Philadelphia Flower Show annually attracts more than 250,000 visitors from all over the world." -Greenversations

Walking through the competition section of the Philadelphia Flower Show was awe inspiring - there was so much to see! Here are a few highlight from the orchid competitions:



Pictured above: Paphiopedilum Hybrids and Paph Alma Geveaert X Todd Clark 'Green Light'.





Pictured above: Cattley A Hybrid.

Dried Flower Masterpieces

We went to the Philadelphia Flower Show this week, and although it wasn't as spectacular as it has been in years past. There was still more to see than we could even fit in in one day. One of our favorite sections was the dried flower composition competition. They were so incredible, so work intensive! Here are a few of the most impressive.




Reproductions of some masterpieces, and some original compositions.




You can see the individual leaves and flowers used in the close-up above.


This one almost looks likes embroidery.

Oolala: French Inspiration

Fantastic "jardins" on this French blog Paradis Express.

The artist says "Issue d'une famille d'artistes cosmopolites, curieuse de tout ce qui se passe ici et là : voyages, design, peinture, déco, technologie, tendances. .. Et la nature, première source d'inspiration."

I don't speak French, but I get the gist. And I agree wholeheartedly that nature is the "première source d'inspiration."

There are enough beautiful pictures on this blog that even if you don't parlay voo anything, you will find inspiration from the quirky posts about gardens, landscapes, plants, and much more.

Enjoy.

Virtual Garden Tours

Seriously, what did people do before the internet?

I've been entertaining myself today by exploring other people's gardens online, and I am so excited to have visited http://thecluelessgardeners.blogspot.com/
It is written by a couple in Franklin, MA. The wife, Michelle, took these beautiful winter interest photos of her Witch hazel, Sedum, and Bee balm.






They also have a great section under "insect identification" where she photographed all the stages of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It's really beautiful.

From the clueless gardeners, I visited http://herojiji.blogspot.com/ posted by a man outside of Tokyo. His post for today was "Unforeseen Snowing" which confused me. Why in February is it "unforeseen"? But reading through his previous posts, his crocuses had already come up, his lilacs were budding, his Camellia had blooms, and the plum trees had already blossomed.

He took this amazing picture.



A posting from last week was "A little sign spring on the blueberry," and he meticulously photographed the buds and it's progress. I was really happy for him, a total stranger, almost ten thousand miles away. We gardeners are all alike.

(By the way if you Google Map directions from New York, NY to Tokyo, Japan, the directions send you to Seattle, and then specify "Kayak across Pacific Ocean." They provide directions for you to portage over Hawaii, and then direct you to, "Kayak across Pacific Ocean" again until you get to Japan!)

I love the internet.

Dirt is Better than Prozac!

In the September/October 2008 issue of Psychology Today, a study done by a neuroscientist, Christopher Lowry, at Bristol University in England found that certain strains of soil-borne mycobacteria raised serotonin levels in mice and "directly impact cognition and mood regulation." (SSRIs like Prozac increase the availability of serotonin in humans.) The same mycobacteria sharply stimulates the human immune system.

According to the article:
"Getting out in the garden plants us back in what appears to be our optimal habitat. Eating fruits and vegetables -- even antioxidant-rich tomatoes, melons, beets, cabbage, and berries -- turns out to be only half of a newly evolving story of health. "

"Our bodies and brains depend on the whole experience of growing our own. Our mental and physical health seem to be deeply rooted in the dirt."

We already knew this: Digging in the dirt makes you happy, and gardening keeps you healthy!