Students Prepare for the Philadelphia Flower Show

By Michelle Glitzer '20, marketing and communications intern

Delaware Valley University students are gaining hands-on experience by designing and constructing an exhibit for the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show.  The 2018 show runs Saturday, March 3 through Sunday, March 11 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.  This year’s theme for the largest indoor flower show in the world is the “Wonders of Water.”

The DelVal Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Sciences wanted to explore the idea that “water is destructive and water is creative,” said Howard Eyre, an assistant professor in the department.  After completing the design process in the fall semester, a group of nine students led by Eyre and Michael Fleischacker, associate professor and chair of the department, entered the construction phase of putting together their display.

DelVal’s exhibit is entitled, “Forgotten Structures,” and will feature an abandoned Mayan temple surrounded by columns that were built and painted to look like ancient ruins.  There will be a waterfall cascading into a pool as well as plants surrounding the walls and columns of the structure.  Guests will be able to appreciate the structure while seated, allowing them to feel immersed in the display. Eyre explained that water has the power to erode and wash away history yet also sustain life, and both concepts will be portrayed in “Forgotten Structures.”  

The students will be judged based on how well they can educate their audience at the Flower Show.  In the past, DelVal students have walked away from the event with multiple awards each year.  The DelVal team and community volunteers set up their display at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in just four days.

“It’s all about logistics,” said Eyre, who will be guiding his students for his 28th participation in the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Students in the Flower Show course are participants in each part of the process leading up to and including the presentation of their display at the Flower Show. 

Rachel Landis ’18, a student in Eyre’s class, has been an integral part of the preparations and drew up the official sketches of the exhibit.  She explained what being a part of the Flower Show means to her.

“It’s really neat to have a general concept, go through the plans, and see how our ideas are tangible now," said Landis. "The whole process is very rewarding.”

For more information or to order tickets to the 2018 Philadelphia Flower Show, please visit theflowershow.com.