Pennsylvania Horticultural Society - Philadelphia Flower Show

The theme for the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show was “Jazz it Up,” focusing on the gardens, music, and culture of New Orleans. Coming three years after Hurricane Katrina, the show provided an opportunity to help promote tourism to New Orleans, and PHS invited the city’s tourism board to exhibit in the marketplace. Live entertainment on the Bourbon Street stage featured Big Sam’s Funky Nation from New Orleans, and pictured here, the Camden City Brass Band.

The 2008 Flower Show theme was “Jazz it Up!” as shown in this shot of the Central Feature, which included a performance stage for musicians to do just that. Visitors enter the show by walking under an archway of floating piano keys and vibrant cut flowers. The musician is playing on the Chihuly Steinway, designed by master American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly with a lime green exterior, and neon yellow and orange keys.

Taking a well-deserved break during the 2008 Flower Show are Competitive Classes Chair Francesca Northrup, former Competitive Classes Chair Carmen H. von Wrangell  and Show Vice Chair Melinda Moritz.

This 29-second time-lapse film shows the construction and set-up of the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show's Central Feature for Jazz It Up!

Men’s Garden Club of Philadelphia exhibit “Muddy Bogs” Best in Show—Invitational—Landscape at 2008 Flower Show. 

Left to right at the 2008 Flower Show Preview: Karen D'Alba, Preview Dinner Chair Ed D'Alba, PHS President Jane Pepper, Chair of PHS Council Harry E. Hill, 3rd, and  Show Chair Rebecca Campbell.

Artist’s rendering of one of the key design elements of the 2008 Flower Show “Jazz It Up!” which paid homage to the sights and sounds of New Orleans.

For the 2008 show, “Jazz It Up,” which celebrated the gardens, music, and culture of New Orleans, Bill Schaffer and Kris Kratt of Schaffer Designs, in Philadelphia, created a Rue Bourbon nightclub inhabited by topiary-framed figures, including a trio in mid-performance, a world-weary bartender, after-hours workers, and young lovers.