Bloomin’ good idea!

By Diane Villano
Times Staff Writer

In 2006, Longwood Gardens, the Chester County home of horticultural excellence, will celebrate 100 years.
To mark this centennial year, Longwood will take its show on the road — to the 90th-anniversary Pennsylvania Farm Show, which opens on Saturday at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.
"Many people visiting the farm show for the first time are surprised that it’s more than livestock and tractors," said Dennis Wolff, the state secretary of agriculture. "We also showcase rodeos, celebrity cooking demonstrations and a food court featuring delicious Pennsylvania products that would make anyone’s mouth water."
Its roots as a dairy farm prove that Longwood Gardens’ history is rich in agriculture and land stewardship. Visitors to this new Pennsylvania Farm Show exhibit will explore Longwood Gardens’ past, present and future, as well as learn about Longwood’s innovative contributions to the art and science of horticulture.
Longwood Gardens was founded by Pierre Samuel du Pont, a gentleman farmer. He bought the property in 1906 to save its magnificent trees. For the most part, du Pont developed the gardens himself, as his gift to the world.
The farm show also fits well with Longwood’s mission to promote horticulture as an art and a science, and to share Longwood with the world.
According to Longwood Gardens planning and design leader Tres Fromme, Longwood decided it was time to do an exhibit promoting the learning opportunities and graduate-student programs offered with the University of Delaware, as well as promoting Longwood Gardens itself.
Longwood offers six programs to serve those interested in gaining practical experience and learning gardening skills. They include the Professional Gardener, College Internship, and International Gardener Training programs. The Longwood Graduate program is administered by the University of Delaware.
But how do you showcase more than 1,000 acres of gardens in a 20-foot-by-40-foot booth?
"We have a very rich tradition and strong identity derived from our founder," Fromme said. "It was a really interesting design challenge . . . very entertaining and a fun, creative challenge. We’re not trying to capture the exact feeling, but we created a classy three-dimensional billboard, eye-catching unto itself."
Longwood designers worked with the Collegeville-based Nimlok Philadelphia to build not a trade-show booth but a building, a replica of the Orangery, which is part of the conservatory on the Longwood grounds.
"We chose to abstract the architecture, and stress the audio-visual and people components. The three-dimensional stage piece is eye-catching unto itself and very different than the typical trade-show booth," Fromme said. "We’re not trying to sell possible clients, but rather show who we are. We’re not giving away pens or magnets."
Scenes showcasing Longwood’s gardens, fountains, seasonal displays and performing-arts events will be projected on arched windows of the exhibit. There will be large fabric graphics that will mimic the environment of the actual original structure. Inside the structure, graphics are designed to showcase the view out to the gardens and recreate the environment of the conservatory, according to Nimlok Philadelphia managing partner Karen Cohen.
Outside, graphics will showcase Longwood’s history, with 100-year-old images in sepia tones to tell the story.
Longwood is open every day of the year and attracts more than 900,000 visitors annually. You can still catch the Longwood Christmas exhibit through Jan. 8, and, less than two weeks later, you can return to see the Welcome Spring exhibit, Jan. 21 through April 7. For more information, visit www.longwoodgardens.org ••
The 90th-anniversary Pennsylvania Farm Show, in progress from Jan. 7-14, will welcome more than 400,000 spectators to the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg and feature some 10,000 animals, 8,000 competitive exhibits and 270 commercial exhibitors. Admission is free. Parking is $5. For more information, visit www.farmshow.state.pa.us
Reporter Diane Villano can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com