Also this issue: Ikara Colt -John Vettese Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series Gilbert Gottfried -Frank Halperin

February 27-March 5, 2003

mixpicks

Flower Show

by Juliet Fletcher

Beautiful and ecologically balanced, yes -- but no one ever accused Mother Nature of being gullible. Still, the organizers of the Philadelphia Flower Show admit that each year’s display requires a trick to be played on most of the plants and shrubs involved: To achieve the sort of proud blooms and vibrant colors that the designers need by early March, growers use methods of "forcing" plants into bud, and buds into blossoms. But if tricks such as strong artificial daylight and temperature adjustment usually work on even the most stubborn specimen, this year¹s foolery will be in a league of its own. Convincing native species from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Latin America to come to life amid a city thick with slush and snow owes less to tricks than to plain old pleading. The main display, named

Festival de las Flores

Festival of the Flowers), will weave together three tableaux. As always, major exhibits will be assembled by the region¹s finest horticultural experts, this year ranging from the African Violet Society of Philadelphia to the Zoological Society. Visitors can enjoy culinary tastings and lectures by garden experts, including Tovah Martin, who will discuss houseplants in "Exotics at Your Elbow,! and Caroline Holmes, author of

Monet At Giverny

Who¹ll expound on "Monet¹s Festival of Flowers.! For those who quail at the thought of giving Nature even the gentlest command, Borders will present a range of gardeners¹ books, on show throughout the week, from tomes on seedlings to coffee-table editions on flower arranging.

Philadelphia Flower Show, Sun.-Sun., March 2-9, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch sts., call 215-988-8899 or go to www.philadelphiaflowershow.com for times, prices and registration information.