It took me the entire walk through the Robertson's exhibit here at the Flower Show to figure out what was what. The exhibit comprises a series of long tables, I thought, some with white cloths and some with black. They each had a collection of vases filled with all white (roses, carnations, what looked like amaryllis) or deep purplel(callas, tulips) and some of the vases were made of crumpled up musical scores. I especially liked the waves of white cyclamen, a plant I almost aways buy in pink or red. White is wild.
The theme of the show is musical. So what on earth is Robertson's up to? I thought it was a banquet. Then I got to the end and saw the title: "Tickling the Ivories." Suddenly it occurred to me that this was supposed to represent a piano, each "table" a key. Aha! Not too many folks got it, but they seemed to like it and the whole shebang won the award for best achievement, distinctive floral design, and the horticultural society's Council Trophy.
Seems to me that Robertson's, a fixture for 80-plus years in the city and a place known for its quality flowers and arrangements, took a chance this year with a much more abstract concept than it has in years past. My memory may be faulty and if so, forgive me, but I seem to remember Robertson's doing spectacularly colorful but very traditional exhibits in years past. They have always been show favorites, for me as well.
This year's effort is diffierent, and I have to say at first I didn't like it much. Today, after going back and spending some time really looking and thinking about it, I have come to like it a lot. It's sort of the difference between a colorful gown (years past) and a tuxedo (2008). One is bright and has a lot going on; the other is more elegant, far more understated and complex.
I feel that way about the entertainment this year, as well. Last year the Irish dancers from the Aran Islands were fabulous, and the crowds clearly enjoyed them. This year the entertainment feels more sophisticated, lower-key, less predictable. The Crosstown Brass Quintet was playing just now and it felt like a dinner party. Not any that I've ever had, mind you ... but a dinner party by invitation only where all the grown-ups are on their best behavior.
So take a swing by Robertson's - it's near the front - and let me know what you think. I asked Phyllis Colleton-Carter, a caretaker from Bethlehem on her first visit to the Flower Show, for her opinion. She found the exhibit very elegant, particularly the tight bouquets of white roses, though she wasn't sure what it was all about either. "It's abstract, with a contemporary edge, like an art piece," she said.
Her traveling companion Sandra Petty, a homemaker also from Bethlehem who's been to the show three times now, said she also found Robertson's display beautiful. "I like its simplicity," she said.
Flower people can be so unlike other people you meet. So there I am talking with Phyllis and Sandra - we're like old friends after 10 minutes - and suddenly they both say, almost in unison, "Well, you deserve a hug!" and they're all over me like I'm their long lost cousin.
Were they trying to get rid of me? It makes me laugh, if so. Somehow ... this being a flower show ... I doubt it.
