The Philadelphia Flower show held in early March is the nation's largest and oldest indoor flower show. This year, America in Bloom participated with a 15' x 20' display garden which received an award for "Best Achievement Depicting Horticulture as a Way to Create Community".





The show theme, "Hawaii", was supported in the AIB garden which showcased a variety of bromeliads, anthuriums, mandevillas and Senettis. Board member Delilah Onofrey headed the effort, with help from AIB judge Diana Weiner, and board members Katy Moss Warner and Evelyn Alemanni.

 The exhibit was designed to allow people to walk through it and get close to all the plants. The centerpiece was a "bromeliad volcano". The Sennettis attracted attention and admiration with their bright colors. Hanging baskets on each corner of the display feeatured bromelias, pothos, and mandevillas.

This year's show attendance broke existing records, with approximately 270,000 people attending. It was a great way to share the benefits America in Bloom offers to communities of all sizes. Guests to the AIB exhibit received a complimentary copy of the new brochure, "Discover the Surprising Side of Plants" as well as the AIB participation guide.

Alemanni also presented a talk at the flower show. It was based on the book she wrote for AIB, "Ten Years of Best Ideas."

By Evelyn Alemanni

Is there a "Mr. Hardscape" in your life? My husband has earned the title "Mr. Hardscape" through his diligent efforts in creating enduring garden elements in contrast to my ephemeral efforts. Over the years, he's added a signficant framework to our garden by building sidewalks, stairs, gates, fences, pergolas, he even made a cast-concrete bench, and quietly rebuilt my attempts at home-carpentry so they wouldn't collapse. He has reroofed my greenhouse and rebuilt the barn. Last year he sculpted supports for the vegetable garden from rebar. In fact, his work is so wonderful that a year after he built the vegetable garden, it was named one of the gardens of the year in San Diego County. A few months after he built the fabulous purple pergolas, they were featured in Better Homes and Gardens.

He creates the frame, I paint the picture, and together we have created a pleasant space filled with interesting specimens ranging from roses to annuals, perennials, cactus and succulents, fruit trees, and even a grove of macadamia trees.

So what's the downside you might ask? It's the teamwork part. Essentially, teamwork requires, well, a team to get the job done. While Mr. "H" is miraculous at building things, he hasn't quite worked out how to keep plants alive. So when half of the team (that's me) is off judging for America in Bloom, doing the work of the entire team becomes a challenge. When I return home from judging trips, most of my garden is seriously stressed (living in Southern California, we usually have no rain between mid-May and the end of November).

Even before unpacking my suitcase, the first thing I do is turn on the irrigation and hand-water for a few hours to supplement. The next day, I break out my Daniels plant food, which is just amazing. I mix a 1/2 teaspoon of Daniels per gallon of water and water everything thoroughly with another application a week later. Sometimes I spray it on foliage in the late afternoon. It seems that within just a few days of using it, the plants in containers have recovered and are blooming again. You might say that a good fertilizer saves more than plants, it can save a marriage!

Ah, did I mention that Mr. Hardscape is also quite skilled with a chainsaw and does most of the heavy-duty tree work for me? So there are days when he goes by another name, "The Chainsaw Gardener". Every garden and gardener needs one.