‘Vallygael’ village blooms at US flower exhibit

SHAMROCKS have long enjoyed a monopoly on evoking the luck of the Irish, but at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show tulips, rhododendrons and azaleas are giving the old classic some competition.

The Legends of Ireland is the theme for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s annual show, running from tomorrow until March 11 in the Pennsylvania Convention Centre. It could be called the Emerald Isle’s greatest hits.

Leprechauns made of ivy wear impish smiles as they paint a rainbow that dips into a pot of gold-coin yellow leaves. Trickles of water make natural music streaming off the cords of an oversized harp. A cobblestone path leads to a quaint village front, complete with a wool shop, jewellery store and pub.

“Without a pub, it’s not a town,” John Young said of Vallygael, the quintessential Irish village that he dreamed up with his colleagues at the Men’s Garden Club of Philadelphia.

Their display of greenery and woodwork relies on bold colours that would stand out in an Irish fog and the warm culture that invites insiders into village shops made attractive inside and out.

“It’s often said in Ireland that if you want to find a really good pub, look at the outside for fresh paint and fresh flowers,” Mr Young said. “Then you’re pretty much assured the food and drink inside will be good.”

Sam Lemheney, the show’s director of design, said the Celts’ rich storytelling heritage guided his work.

The feature exhibit in the centre of the show’s 10 landscaped acres was inspired by the legend of Tír na nÓg — the land of the young. “The trees always have leaves, the flowers never stop blooming and the smell of spring is always in the air,” Mr Lemheney said. “It’s just perfect.”

At the show, that translates into giant man-made tree trunks reaching skyward, above a floor of daffodils and ferns that one might imagine as the preferred home for Ireland’s mythical faeries.

Beyond the wood, which shows off Ireland’s natural beauty, the Knot Garden flaunts the artistic skill honed for centuries by the island’s residents. Colourful cut glass and blooming annuals meld together to form sparkling versions of tradition Celtic designs, spread over a mock hillside.

The glisten helps the garden hold its own in the shadow of the spikes and turrets of a castle that could have housed one of Ireland’s noble families. Planted walls and a perennial garden surround the outer quarters and lead visitors to the castle stage, where Ragus, a dance and musical act from Galway Bay, Ireland, will give daily performances.

To start it all out, “The Living Wall,” an archway lined with plants in intricate Celtic patterns, serves as an entryway into the show.

“It gives a feeling of a portal into ancient, old world Ireland,” said Barbara King, manager of Valley Forge Flowers in Wayne.