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I was thrilled to be able to attend the 186th PHS Philadelphia Flower Show earlier this week and wanted to share some of the beauty, exciting creativity, and talented artistry with you, my fellow gardening enthusiasts!!

[The creativity was so inspiring!]

The Philadelphia Flower Show, presented by the esteemed Philadelphia Horticultural Society, is an annual event and it's HUGE! In fact, it is the world's LARGEST INDOOR FLOWER SHOW!  In 2014, it was honored with the Grand Pinnacle Gold Award as the world's top event, by the International Festivals and Events Association!

My day at The Flower Show was spent admiring the amazing displays, following this year's theme, "Celebrate the Movies". The very talented Floral and Garden Designers used Disney and Disney-Pixar films as inspirations for their exhibits. The Cinderella exhibit, for instance featured not only gorgeous flower displays fit for a princess, but atop the display was an exact replica of the glass slipper featured in Disney's new Cinderella live action film!

[Cinderella Exhibit, notice the slipper!]

[Aladdin & Peter Pan Exhibits]

[The Emerald City!]

I was also excited to participate as Emcee of the annual professional Floral Arranging Contest in the Designer's Studio area of the Flower Show. My co-emcee was Mr. Tim Farrell, President of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Floral Designers. We had a packed crowd for each of the two competitions, which featured some of the most talented and creative floral designers I've ever met, who came from some of the most prestigious Florist establishments in the Philadelphia area, including Valley Forge Flowers, Robertson's Flowers and Events, Edgemont Flower Shop, and Flowers by Jennie Lynne.

[The Winners!]

The audience asked lots of questions throughout the timed competitions, which were answered by the designers themselves, as well as by Tim Farrell. I had quite a few questions myself! We all learned quite a lot about flower arranging and how to keep our arrangements looking beautiful for as long as possible!

In the end, the audience chose the winners of each round via their applause! The first round ended in a three-way tie and the second round was won by John Lynch of Valley Forge Flowers (which is the shop owned by our Gardening Expert Barb King!)

[The Clap-o-Meter Determining the Winner!]

Of course there was definitely some time for shopping, in the amazing gardening vendor area! I came home with some beautiful decorative items for my garden (including some bunny statues, of course!) and several interesting new tools as well!

It was a wonderful day and I encourage anyone in the Philadelphia area to come and visit the Philadelphia Flower show this year! It runs daily through Sunday, March 8th. You can find out more details at www.PHS.org or www.theflowershow.com!! And don't forget to check out our Gardening Guide on QVC.com for more inspiration this garden season!!