March 3- 9, 2005

mixpicks

Stalks of the Town

: 169; Courtesy Pennsylvaina Horticultural society

horticulture

Come early March (incongruous as it might seem, what with the slushy sidewalks and all), it's your civic duty to get hyped-up about flora. Not to worry. Every year, the organizers of the Philadelphia Flower Show manipulate temperature and lighting to trick plants into blooming a little bit early. That way, never mind you don't know daisies from delphiniums, you can admire some 10 acres of native and exotic beauty while gleaning the latest gardening and cooking techniques from horticultural experts and celebrity chefs, just in time for warmer weather. It's the world's largest indoor flower extravaganza. This year's patriotically themed show, "America the Beautiful," will feature creative, do-it-yourself garden displays designed for country, city and suburban landscapes, such as this one (pictured) by Stoneybank Nurseries. There'll also be an interactive tree exhibit, an interior view of Washington's National Cathedral composed of roses, and a natural minihabitat that supports the bald eagle presented by the Philadelphia Zoo. And (perhaps a nudge at the other recent, grand, tree-lined exhibit 90 miles north) the show will feature a masterpiece entrance: the White House's original iron gates, on public display for the first time since the 1930s.

Philadelphia Flower Show, Sun.-Sun., March 6-13, $12-$26, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch sts., 215-988-8899, www.theflowershow.com.

—Tami Fertig