Meet 8 Floral Stars of Philadelphia Flower Show
By Jill Brooke
For the first time in its 193-year history, the Philadelphia Flower Show is not taking place in February indoors but at an outside venue of FDR Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. This gives a new opportunity for landscape designers to showcase their artistry as well as floral artists.
As a result, the show has been reimagined and will feature the most designers, gardens and floral displays in the show’s history with over 75 installations in a canvas that is 45% larger than space indoors at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
Here’s the highlight reel of some of the floral and landscape artists that will participate in the Philadelphia Flower Show this Friday.
Like appreciating art in a museum, get to know their names because these flower ambassadors are coveted by their discerning clientele and admired by professionals for their craft.
Plus it’s fun to look at such beauty and then look forward to seeing their next flower show creativity.
8 Floral and Landscape Artists to Know
1) Jennifer Reed of Jennifer Designs Events
Jennifer Reed is calling her exhibit “Nature’s Resilience.” She is in big demand lately – and just did the botanical couture event for American Flowers Week – and will have a creation that encourages people to “get lost in the outback and the vast landscape of Australia by experiencing the uplifting nature of a habitat reborn.” Design was inspired because the Australian landscape is so resilient.
2) Camille Faire Floral
Don’t you love her fresh approach to flowers. Also how cool to have a floral arrangement on the side of the house. Inventive don’t you think? And those white anemones are just dreamy. In the second image, the draping apricot rose with a hint of taupe. She provides full event coverage aside from florals.
3) Bill Schaffer and Kristine Kratt of Schaffer Designs
A third-generation florist, Bill Schaffer and his wife Kristine Kratt are world-famous for their wedding installations and creativity, the gold-medal winners of many shows also shared a rendering of what they will do for the Philadelphia Flower Show that will be unveiled June 5th.
4) Renee Tucci
For Tucci’s display, she plans on creating a beehive installation brimming with flowers. “Place yourself in the wings of helpful honeybees and behold a tapestry of pattern in a perfect hexagon, with flowers in shades of lemon, amber and gold.” Plus pollination week is June 21st so we can learn so many good ideas.
5) Tu Bloom
This Chicago-based florist hits all the right notes in floral design. He is also known for his garden seminars and skill with using container flowers in surprising but interesting ways. And he just did the flowers for the Grammys.
6) Wambui Ippolito
Ippolito is a talented horticulturist and landscape designer, whose work is admired in many magazines. Veranda Magazine named her one of “11 Revolutionary Female Landscape Designers You Should Know.” We would call her less revolutionary and more a landscape designer who connects to people and flowers and brings them together in holistic matrix-like symmetry.
7) Patrick Cullina
He is an award-winning landscape designer, horticultural consultant and photographer with a diverse portfolio of commissions across the country. Among Cullina’s many credits, he formerly served as Vice President of both Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Friends of the High Line – which to any New Yorker means they are thanking Patrick most days. He is also an Associate Director of the Rutgers University Gardens. Not surprisingly, he is a popular lecture in both academic and professional settings in the U.S. and abroad.
8) Jeff Leatham
Known for his use of orchids and big bold sexy flowers, Leatham has been a floral fixture at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia flowers which is now a big sponsor of the Philadelphia Flower Show. Within the past two years, Leatham also created the orchid exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden and launched his own floral perfumes with Kim Kardashian.
We will soon be at the show and then share all their current visionary creations shortly.
Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD and floral editor for aspire design and home magazine