TAKE ONE March 2018
Gardener News Serving the Agricultural, Gardening and Landscaping Communities
GARDENERNEWS.COM
TAKE ONE No. 179
2018 Flower Show to Explore “Wonders of Water”
Rendering of the 2018 Philadelphia Flower Show Entrance Garden.
By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor Rainforests are the oldest living ecosystems on Earth. Circling the wet, equatorial tropics of our planet, rainforests can receive up to one inch of rain per day, every day of the year. This water creates and sustains an amazing diversity of life. The incredible range of species in the rainforest is the key to its success. Although they cover less than 7 percent
of the Earth’s surface, rainforests are home to more than 50 percent of all animal species, 65 percent of all plant species, and 80 percent of all insect species. All of these species work together in a complex food web that branches from the tiniest microorganisms to great predators like eagles, big cats, snakes, dolphins, crocodiles — even humans! The rainforest is a distinct environment performing an endless cycle of water flow and filtration. The bountiful
water of the rainforest feeds an explosion of trees, ferns, flowers and other plants that work together to create a powerful and self-sustaining water filtration system. On and on, this amazing, endless cycle of water feeds through the filter of the rainforest, bringing life to hundreds of thousands of species – and to us, as well! Following the flow of water and observing plant life in our planet’s rainforests provides new viewfinders to turn on our local ecosystem, and the endless cycle of water
movement downstream and the filtration that happens across different, but connected, environments. The 2018 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, “Wonders of Water,” will celebrate the beauty and life-sustaining interplay of horticulture and water, showcasing the astounding plants that thrive in various environments, from exquisite orchids and flowering vines to luminescent desert blooms. The Entrance Garden is a design interpretation
inspired by the magnificent rain forests of our planet, one of the most astonishing and varied ecosystems on Earth, and a marvelous example of how Wonders of Water interplay. Show goers will explore towering trees and tiny mosses; creeping vines and wide-spreading ferns; withering leaves and a living roof of green; colorful flowers and a myriad of textures. You will enter the show and instantly feel as if you have been transported into a modern, imaginative (Cont. on Page 12)