Roses and royalty at the Philadelphia Flower Show

Royalty, roses and a rite of spring are filling the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the 2013 edition of the Philadelphia International Flower Show.This year it isbeing called “Brilliant!”

This year, the crowning achievement will be a hail to all things Britannia.

Inspired by the majestic beauty and creative genius of Great Britain, “Brilliant!” is being presented through March 10. Floral and garden exhibits, special programming and new attractions will pay tribute to centuries of influential British culture, culminating in the urbane style of 21st century London.

“This will be a Flower Show that celebrates Britain’s amazing landscapes and cultural icons, as well as the city that has become the design capital of the world,” said Drew Becher, president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. “It will also lift up the British passion for gardening, which has contributed so much to the appreciation of horticulture and its role in our lives.”

There is also a new link across the Atlantic.

“We have a new international alliance that will benefit all of our members and the communities we serve. This extraordinary partnership will include digital membership in PHS for all RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) members and joint events both here in the states and in England. The RHS has assisted in bringing special presenters and judges from Britain to this year’s flower show and an amazing display of photos from her majesty’s visits to the Chelsea Flower Show over the last several decades,” said Becher. He called this the start of a joint effort that reaches back to the roots of the Philadelphia Flower Show and the PHS in the early 1800s when founders traded resources and more with British horticulturalists.