BY CHARLIE C. If you would’ve asked me, in all honesty, I would say that I don’t give a bat crap about flowers. Flowers are just…… flowers. But, that opinion of mine changed a year before this moment. That was when I had the pleasure of going to The Philadelphia Flower Show for the first time. But, last Sunday, an entire year later, I went back for more.
On that fateful Sunday morning that I anxiously awaited for a long time, I awoke with a jolt, and in a vibrant, fast paced daze I got myself ready for the day lying ahead. We piled into the car while I pondered over that obscure Beyonce song that was stuck in my head. With the car ride only being the tedious moments between the best thing that would ever happen. But then, we arrived…
We entered through the doors, and upon just entering the place we already could tell that we were in for something great. It felt so exotic yet so close to home at the same time. I can’t even describe the thoughts that went on in my head during that specific moment in time, but, it was magic. Then, we walked into a massive, cylindrical room, which was decorated with wooden animals on the side and flowers intricately spread throughout the room. In all honesty, I’d truly feel as if it was a national park if it wasn’t for the concrete floor and ceiling. As a centerpiece, there was a little stone structure with a waterfall in the middle, which was something that I needed to include because of how wonderful it was.
Now, there is no chance in this world that I am going to be able to describe every single exhibit that I saw on this day, so, I will just share my favorite displays and moments:
–What has to be my favoritest exhibit was when there was a walk-through little field where it was wondrously decorated with animal figures made out of wood, moss, grass, and other natural materials. There was deer, and owls and birds perched upon wooden branches, all surrounding a predominantly displayed oak tree, with a walkway in the middle that allowed people to walk right through. Inside the mystical oak, if you looked up, you would see a wonderful display of color and flowers, arranged in a beautiful way.
–One that was most definitely worth mentioning was the Acadia national park exhibit, where there was an impassable clearing flooded with basically a flower every square inch. And they all went up to my knees in height. The enchanting little place was barricaded from a massive wall of pine bushes, and it was only visible from a little empty spot. I’ve actually been to Acadia at a different time in my short life, and I can safely say that they had the same magic.
–And, in my final tale of the night, let’s take a trip to the Liberty Bell national park exhibit. Above the passerby’s head was a massive depiction of the liberty bell. It was covered in patriotic flowers, and there was a spot where people could pose for photos with the Declaration of Independence as a background. If you think that’s patriotic, they also reanimated George Washington and Benjamin Franklin and had bald eagles play Yankee Doodle on pianos.
But, as Chewbacca from Star Wars once said, days pass by, life moves on, so you can’t get upset about the little things. We left. But, in all honesty, I think that this year’s was better than last year’s, and last year’s set a pretty high standard for flowers. I knew that I would leave that place happy. To be honest, I would recommend going to the flower show to anyone living on this planet, to be honest. But, if you are going, trust me on this – bring your own food. It costs like 9 bucks for a chicken tender there.
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 with a perspective 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.