Polly Ford's Weekly Post

Polly here...

Ok, so I took on the challenge of "Not Taking Flowers for Granted." (I've grown up around flowers and in the past few years I haven't really stopped to smell the roses, if you get my meaning.)

This past week I took home a vase of beautiful yellow gerbera.

Flowers at Home being enjoyed by our cat Strider.

In looking up the meaning of the gerbera flower, the most consistent meaning was "cheerfulness."

So did I feel cheerful? Yes! Gerbera daisies have always been a favorite of mine because I love the variety of colors they come in and I love when we get a new color I have not seen. I have helped lots of brides choose them for their wedding and I have this awesome chart with the available varieties in the cut flower market. I get lost in the chart looking at the colors and the cool variety names for the gerbera.

WEEK TWO...

For week two in my "Not Taking Flowers for Granted" challenge, I am choosing a new green plant to bring home. I am currently embarrassed to reveal I only have one plant in my house. Over the past 5 or so years I have not replaced plants as they have passed over to that great plant heaven in the sky. To keep things simple I'm choosing a Pathos plant. It is easy to care for and will be a great way to dip my toe back in to caring for houseplants on a regular basis. I'll let you know how it goes...

NOW ON TO WHAT I DID LAST WEEKEND, SOMETHING I HAVE NOT DONE IN OVER 20 YEARS...

I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show!!! I keep trying to remember when it was that I last went. I can't quite remember, but I vaguely remember wandering around with my brothers. My mother tells a story about my father making a floral design presentation at the Flower Show. The story goes, my dad was so busy talking that while adding water to a container he missed and was actually watering the table. If you know my dad, that is classic Ben Ford behavior.

So last Sunday, I woke my daughter Kitty up bright and early and coaxed her in to going to the Philadelphia Flower Show. We live so close to Philly, only 20 minutes when the traffic cooperates, and we never go. She enjoyed the show, but I think she actually enjoyed the quick visit we made to the Philadelphia Reading Terminal Market. (I'll keep working on making her a florist.)

Miss Kitty Hunter enjoying the orchids.

The theme at the flower show was Hawaii. My favorite display was a large waterfall, with masses of orchids and foliage surrounding the base. Here is one section of the display with eye popping  colors....

I had to stop and enjoy the striking yet simplicity of these red anthurium en masse...

Check out this cool display of birds of paradise in a cool sea turtle container.

Kitty and I both liked this ivy topiary surfer.

That's it for this week. Be sure to check out the blog post from Lisa to get her unique perspective of the Flower Show.