Philadelphia's International Flower Show

On one of my first evenings out as a fully fledged adult since arriving, I ventured this week to the International Flower Show in down town Philadelphia (think Chelsea but without the flowing summer dresses, Alan T or the champers). The exhibiton is being held at the Philadelphia Convention Centre which in itself is a jumbo sized arena to behold. The theme was Hawaii - Islands of Aloha and so the 12 or so major exhibits all reflected the far flung state. The major show piece included a 30 foot waterfall flowing down a mountain side covered with tropical plants and at the bottom a reed roofed hut onto which dancing hoola girls were projected. Other exhibits also included infinity pools, beach loungers and arches covered in orchids. They were amazing. Wednesday night was also wedding night, not just in terms of young couples coming to view their options but two of the exhibitors also married on stage and then took over the convention centre restaurant for their reception - only in the USA. Many thanks to the fellow Brit who accompanied me - it was good to chat to someone who had been through all this themselves and find out that our experiences are not so different.