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The FABULOUS 2017 FLower Show is over now, but the memories -- and more importantly the photos! -- are not. Please share your photos on this thread if you went.

Please ASK before using any of the photos on this thread, whether forwarding them via email, posting elsewhere, etc. I've turned off my watermark so as not to detract from the images, so I'm trusting that nobody will abuse my copyright or the rights of anybody else sharing photos here. I don't want to happen across any emailed slideshows and see these photos -- especially without credit given to the photographer(s).

Scroll down a bit to enjoy the "photo tour!"

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Philadelphia Flower Show

March 11 - 19, 2017

"Holland: Flowering the World"

Are you planning to go this year? If you have never been, this is definitely something for your "bucket list." There was a Y2K bestseller called "100 things to do before you die," and I've heard the Philly Flower Show was the only event of its kind on the list!

Aspenhill (Terri) and I are going! Because my daughter wants to come along and Monday is only a half day of school anyway, we're driving to Philly Saturday night, going to the show Sunday and again on Monday, returning Monday afternoon.

I found good rates ($80/night for a room with 2 queen beds, including tax) at Motel 6 near the airport and reserved 2 rooms thinking others might want to join the fun. My friends Ann & Martina & Sally (Donner on NGA) are "definite maybes,' depending on situations that might require them to stay put that weekend.

I'm anticipating spectacular displays of spring-blooming bulbs, given this year's theme.

If you're thinking about going, post on this thread! Hopefully we can arrange meet-ups between folks who are there on the same day -- although chance encounters do occur, the crowds make it unlikely to just "run into" somebody there.

If anybody is interested in staying out by the airport with us, let me know! We can drive in together and split parking, or you can drive on your own for more flexibility.

Parking in the brand new convention center garage is closer and better priced than many nearby options. The flower show site has a $5 off coupon for parking there, too: https://phsonline.org/uploads/... You can reserve in advance through Parking Panda (partnered with PHS for the show) or similar sites. During the week there's a $14 all day special for "early birds" who arrive before 9. Looks like you can get this rate with an advance reservation for a time before 9 and arrive any time you want.

For a $5 credit, you can use my invitation code of 6boejk -- which gives me a $5 credit on my next reservation, too. :-)
I've used Parking Panda before, for parking by the National Zoo, and it worked fine.

(edited to add post-show info between asterisks above)

Yep, I don't want to miss it this year! This is a great show if you've never been before and are on the fence about going. Crowds are always an issue, but we have discovered that they really start to thin out around 4:00 so then you have until it closes to browse to your hearts content without feeling jammed in.

The Spousal Unit and I went 2 years ago. We stayed at the Hilton, which was right across the street. Yeah, a bit pricey, but hey..............and the Reading Terminal Market was right around the corner. Oh, my.......................

I'd like to go again, but it won't be this year. My BFF and I are going to the Chicago Flower Show March 21st. Taking a bus there, so no worries about parking.

If you are going to the PHL flower show, ensure you also visit Longwood and Winterthur.

For me at least, that's going to be a separate trip! I'm planning an "azelea" tour with Joyanna during her Spring Break... staying a couple nights at the Hamptom Inn in Chadds Ford, near to both Longwood and Winterthur as well as rainy day possibilities like Brandywine River Museum... Joyanna, predictably, has her eye on the hotel's pool & hot tub LOL. (Hot tub sounds good after a day of garden touring!)

I got my Breck's catalog the other day. They are of the sponsors for PHS.

They are having a drawing for 2 free tickets ($56 value according to them). To enter, go to http://Brecks.com/drawing

The drawing is being held on March 1, 2017

When we go we have been doing the Amtrac deal. No tolls, no gas, no parking, and 2-1year memberships to PHS so no tickets. It saves us more to spend in the vendor area. Oh, and our gas is $2.59. I was so thrilled to fill up in Fredrick Sat. @ $2.07. I saved $7.28 on a tank.

Do you have a link to that deal? I looked (so I could post it here) and couldn't find it.

On the show website, under directions there is a blurb about Amtrak. It isn't for the show, it is for visiting Philadelphia in general.

"Take Amtrak to the 2017 Flower Show and save! Purchase a companion fare ticket and save 30% when you click here"

https://www.amtrak.com/save-30...

I'm now wondering if they still offer the package. I've sent an inquiry to the PHS/show website, and will post their answer.

Well it's been almost a week and I have not had a reply from PHS concerning the train package. Maybe I'll try Amtrac.

Ric, what did you find out?

Terri & I have juggled our plants, since Joyanna won't be coming. We're heading up to Philly Monday afternoon/evening, staying out by the airport and spending Tuesday and Wednesday (until 2 or 3) at the show.

Who else will be there on Tuesday or Wednesday?

Does anybody want to join us at Motel 6? It's recently renovated and getting OK reviews lately for a budget hotel. $68.50 per night during the week (including taxes & $3/24 hours of WIFI). They still have rooms. We shifted our reservations too late to take advantage of the new convention center garage, but parking by the Garden Hilton garage was $31... only a few spaces left - but if you stay out by the airport, you can ride in to the show and back with us & share parking. (Hotels near the convention center charge $30-35 for parking, and needless to say rates are way higher, so this was a budget-friendly deal.)

Did seriously consider joining y'all but last year or two, found the crowds too off-putting. Do recommend fetching pork sandwiches at DiNic's in Reading Terminal, eating them at Convention Center's beer/wine venue in World Market area, Grand Hall.
Doing the Boston Flower Show in two weeks. Hoping no crowds. Yeah, right.

Oh, my.................I LOVED Reading Terminal Market. I wish I could have taken home half a carload of those beautiful fruits and veggies.

Lisa, we haven't been the past couple years, so maybe the crowds have gotten worse. We have developed sort of an algorithm for avoiding the worst of the crush... and this year we're staying for a 2nd day, so that should really help.

Come with us! We always have such a blast. The biggest crowds are in early afternoon, and we have sort of a plan for avoiding them, although we do wander pretty randomly, so it's not like we have anything like a strict itinerary.

Off this top of my head, I think our day in the past has gone something like this:

Plan to arrive before 11, actually arrive closer to noon. BIG crowds, so we ooh and aah at the larger exhibits (landscaping and display gardens, some of the design areas like "front doors" can get crowded too) from afar and then concentrate on the things around the edges... rock garden society display, horticourt (PHS judged items), whatever isn't mobbed.

Break for lunch, usually cheesesteak sandwiches at Reading Terminal Market (I really like Lisa's idea of bringing food back to the wine area at the flower show!).

Check out the vendors! If we buy anything heavy (like herons made with forged iron and river rocks!), we'll ask that they stash it for us until the end of the day.

By 4, the buses are leaving, and the crowd starts thinning out. This is the time to get up close & personal with the large exhibits. Not only is it more enjoyable when less crowded, but we can chat with the exhibitors and indulge ourselves by taking lots of photos.

Dinner break -- unless too full from lunch, I highly recommend Maggiano's, an Italian restaurant near RTM.

Back to make sure we haven't missed anything, then return to the vendor area to pick up any heavy/bulky things we bought.

We've been known to leave at closing time and get home at midnight, but the last time we went we stayed overnight by the airport and drove home the next day.

This time, we'll return to the show at 10 am, see the things we missed (there's always something!), take more photos, etc. We'll have finished seeing the big exhibits the previous day, so we'll avoid the larger crowds around them.

Ironic that we changed our travel plans so we'd miss the snow that didn't happen after all this weekend... only to find ourselves in the middle of a bigger snowstorm!

We're going anyway!! We changed our hotel to Day's Inn, right across the street from the convention center -- they suddenly had some openings, I wonder why? That way, we have no worries about driving anywhere until Wednesday afternoon.

that nothing causes them to actually *close* the show on Tuesday... not that we'd mind being snowed in together, Terri & I NEVER run out of conversation, but I could be snowed in more cheaply at home, watching the kids play!

Woohoo! I kept digging around and finally found the answer in the PHS FAQ: "The Flower Show does not close for snow."



Bet the crowd might be a little smaller...

This is going to be fun! Timing it just right to get on the road before the snow. Staying within walking distance to the convention center means no worries regarding the weather, and spending an entire day inside amongst springtime garden displays while outside it will probably be snowing its @!x off LOL.

I know -- this is shaping up to be a standout, even among our adventures!

Who will be joining us at the show Tuesday or Wednesday??

Jill, 2 years ago when the SU and I went, it snowed and there were hardly any people there the day we went. It was SO funny.........we were watching TV the 2nd morning (after the 2 or 3 inches of wet snow)............the weather report people were saying "Do not go out if you don't have to..........it will be bitterly cold today and tomorrow with a high of 20". Yes, folks, 20 ABOVE zero. Bitterly cold my butt................they don't KNOW bitter cold.