BY CHARLIE C. Flowers are kind of… just flowers. They’re no Disney World. They’re just flowers, and it’s very hard to get excited about flowers, because they just look pretty and smell good, then you’re done. Just smelly green sticks. Or so I used to think. You see, this is the story of how I realized I love the Philadelphia Flower Show. I thought it would be just like flowers on the ground, really. Nothing exciting can really happen with flowers, or so I thought. I now know your first time going you may be unenthusiastic about it, but once you go you get the gist of it, and how great it is.
Our magical day of magical-ness started with the grand moment we entered the exhibit hall. Each display was inspired by a different Disney movie. A large, neon sign gave something to see for my eyes, with a very elegant flower display above it. Retro-flashing lights were put all over the place under the curved part of it, while very Hollywood-like spotlights made you feel like you really were in the movies. Also, there was an entrancing red carpet, which made me feel kind of like a superstar. The words, “Lights! Camera! Action!” went across the screen every once in a while. What a welcoming entrance! Right next to us, there was a vintage camera reel, with strips of film rotating through it. It gave off an old-timey feel, which felt good in that area.
A cute, bubbly fountain with a pretty rose garden was right next to it. I swear, all around there was something to feast your eyes upon. Huge flowers hung from the ceilings, and there were several star projections floating around. Everything was distracting me from the thing that was distracting me from the thing that was distracting me! What I really liked was the Garden of Eden-like feel that radiated from it all. It was all too pretty, even the flowers looked kind of worn down, like their were dying.
We then walked over to a little woods area. A sign read that this was the “Into the Woods” exhibit. Smoke machines gave it an eerie feel, which I didn’t understand. So we walked away. From there, the path led us to what turns out to be my favorite exhibit: Tarzan, of course! It did give out the feeling of being in an actual jungle! There were dozens of wild and exotic plants that covered the ground, and my favorite, PALM TREES!!! I love palm trees, which only goes to show that you always want what you can’t have, because I live in New Jersey, where there are no palm trees.
Now, I don’t want to go through a long and detailed description of everything that happened at The Flower Show. I was thinking that I would tell you about a couple of the exhibits, then say you have to see the rest for yourself, but it kind of closes in an hour, until next year. But I did want to say that the amount of detail they added was ludicrous…-ly amazing! My attention was always getting torn away from one little detail to the next. I’ll never forget getting lost in the magical daze of the Mary Poppins. You’d have to be there to really know how great it was. Some might say it’s crazy to make such a big deal over flowers but I think they are missing the point. In the end, I think that the Flower Show kind of gave us a little preview of the beauty in store for us in spring, when this awful winter finally leaves. My dad says that’s called hope.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Like any normal 10 year old kid from Haddon Heights, he goes to school, loves his dog, likes Minecraft and leaves a mess wherever he goes. He also writes better than most adults and has keen insight into the human psyche that borders on the paranormal. If this kid can keep his head on straight, he is going places. You can check out his blog THE UNIVERSE ACCORDING TO CHARLIE.