Mother Nature herself will arrive in Philadelphia, when the 2006 Philadelphia Flower Show opens at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This is one of the preeminent flower shows in the world. But, the Philadelphia Enquirer explains that flowers won’t be the only thing featured:

The Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual blow-out party thrown by Mother Nature worshipers who spend a year gathering stones and assorted plants so they can build altars to Her beauty.

Henri David can relate.

The eccentric Center City jeweler, known for his annual outré Halloween party, is a sort of Mother Nature groupie, too.

All year long, David collects stones and assorted pearls so he can create what he calls “my whimsies.” These are brooches and decorative pieces that reflect his artistic interpretation of what the materials were meant to be.

So it was natural selection, if not divine inspiration, that this year David’s work will be incorporated into the Flower Show’s main exhibit.

“Look at this,” he says, holding a luminous blister pearl he picked up in Hong Kong. “I saw that it was a vase, waiting.” So he had a German artist carve amethyst flowers and arranged them just so.

And this piece of opal? A stingray with a shadow creeping across its back.

“You can’t improve on nature,” he says, marveling at the juicy greens and pinks in a droplet of watermelon tourmaline that he had turned into a ladybug. “Once she produces, all I can do is frame it out.”

As visitors enter the show, which runs March 5-12 at the Convention Center, they will be greeted by Natura, the mother of all plant sculptures. Reclining in all her green-goddess glory, the figure - 25 feet high and 60 feet long - will have a waterfall cascading from her outstretched palm.

“She will be lying in the garden of floral gems,” says Sam Lemheney, director of show design for the Philadelphia Flower Show, “surrounded by caves containing floral displays arranged by Life 3,” a “rock star” team of European designers.

This is where Henri David comes in.

“We wanted some actual jewels to be part of that exhibit,” Lemheney explains. “We felt having some of Henri’s creations, which are pretty spectacular, presented in themed jewelry boxes that look like rocks with glass fronts, would enhance Natura. They will give the visitor more visual eye candy.”

David, who began working on the project about four months ago, says he has created six new pieces specially for the exhibit. “There will be at least 50 pieces in the show.”

During an interview in his house - which, like his store, is a trippy place and not conducive to coldly rational discussion - David produces several trays full of whimsies. He describes how a chunk of quartz evokes dolphins and mermaids. A lump of azurite, when expertly cut, reveals tendrils of lapis and malachite.

“I’ve had these jade leaves for 20 years,” he says, picking up one of the pieces he’s made for the flower show and laying it lovingly in his palm. “I didn’t know what to do with them until I found this flower in Bangkok.” The intricate flower, formed from smoky quartz, blooms perfectly from the cluster of stone fronds.

Although the pieces will not be for sale at the show, a brochure will be available, containing complete descriptions of every piece and information about how to get in touch with David.

There are only two ways to do that - by phone or in person at his shop at 1329 Pine St.

“Since we don’t have e-mail or a Web site, anyone who’s interested will have to come over here and talk to me,” he says. “How awful!”

Lemheney first set eyes on David’s collection when his colleague, M.R. Daniels, took him to visit Halloween, David’s fantastical Pine Street store.

The whimsies, displayed in a wall-sized glass case, were well-known to Daniels, an artist who used to create theater scenery and store displays and is now one of the flower show’s exhibit designers.

“We’ve been friends for 30 years,” says David. “She brought Sam in and he basically lost his mind. He said, we have to do something with this! These are jewels of nature!”

David, who helps put the sparkle on celestial beings like Elton John, is not one for understatement.

“I’m so excited!” he says. “All this over-the-top stuff! Hopefully, it will just kill people! They’ll faint!”

Fortunately, since the displays are set back three or four feet, creating a safe distance between visitors and the pieces’ knockout details, most people are likely to remain alive and vertical.

With the right timing, if they ooh and aah over the encased glitterati with sufficient admiration, they might get to meet the artist himself.

“I go every year,” he says. “It’s the breath of spring I need every March. By then we’ve all had it. Enough with the winter!”

The Philadelphia Flower Show

The Philadelphia Flower Show, the nation’s oldest, starts next Sunday, March 5, and runs until Sunday, March 12. It’s the largest annual indoor flower show in the world. Last year, more than 250,000 attended.

This year’s theme: “Enchanted Spring: A Tribute to Mother Nature.”

Where: Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia.

Hours: Sundays, March 5 & March 12: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, March 6, through Friday, March 10: 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11: 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Tickets at the box office: $26 for opening day, $24 for weekends, and $22 weekdays. Children’s admission is $12.

Tickets are also available in advance for $20 at participating PNC branches, SEPTA ticket outlets, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Acme Markets, Clemens Family Markets, Philadelphia-area and select New York City Borders Books & Music stores, participating nurseries and florists, and online at www.theflowershow.com.

Information: 215-988-8899 or www.theflowershow.com.

Donna Frawley from the Midland Daily News informs us about chives and their flowers:

Chives are a very easy perennial herb to grow. Chives (Allium Schoenoprasum) come from a large family, which includes: onions, leeks, shallots, and garlic. The wonderfully subtle onion flavor enhances every dish they are added to. As a child, I remember my mom growing and using chives. She only had three herbs in her garden: dill, parsley and chives, but she used them regularly.
Chives can take over more area in your garden than you want. Their purple flowers (which are edible) bloom in spring and if left alone will make seeds that will germinate all over your garden. I either harvest the flowers for vinegar or cut the plants down to the ground to get rid of the pending seeds as well as the tough stock that supports the flowers. This eliminates having chive plants all over your garden and rejuvenates each plant with an abundance of usable leaves. There are a few tips to having healthy plants. Chives started from seeds grow very slowly. It is best to ask a neighbor if you can have some of theirs since they need dividing every three years or so or buy them from a reputable grower. Plant chives in full sun (minimum of five hours) with well-drained soil. Chives can also be grown inside in containers. Just make sure they get enough light in the winter. Grow lights are advisable.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes using chives.
Superb Swiss Cheese Pie with Chives
1 tablespoon soft butter
One 9-inch unbaked pie shell, well chilled
6 to 12 bacon slices
4 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
3?4 teaspoon salt
Pinch each of: nutmeg, sugar, cayenne pepper
1?4 pound natural Swiss cheese, grated (1 cup)
2 tablespoon fresh snipped chives
Optional: 1 cup sauteed mushrooms

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Rub butter over the pie shell. Cut up bacon and fry until crispy and drain on paper towel. In a bowl, combine eggs, cream, salt, nutmeg, sugar, cayenne pepper; beat just long enough to mix thoroughly.
Evenly distribute bacon, cheese, chives and mushrooms on the bottom of the pie shell. Pour cream mixture over bacon, cheese, chives and mushrooms. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 40 minutes longer. Serve hot with a fruit salad.

Mangospacho
4 large mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1?2 cup rice vinegar
1?2 cup olive oil
2 cups water
2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoons salt
1?2 teaspoon white pepper
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced
2 cucumbers, peeled seeded and diced
1?2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1?2 cup chopped fresh chives

Blend 1/2 of diced mangoes, ginger, vinegar, olive oil, water, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and add remaining 2 mangoes, onion, strawberries, cucumber, cilantro, and chives. Adjust seasonings. Chill several hours to let flavors blend. Let rest at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Ladle into bowls and garnish with
Herb Butter
1 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1/4 teaspoon basil, marjoram and thyme

Blend all ingredients until well mixed. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours. Good for heated French bread, broiled meats, vegetables and baked potatoes.

While most of us would be glad to see flowers popping open this time of year, the early flowers showing in parts of California are worrisome for farmers. Here is an article we found in the Daily Democrat of Woodland, California:

The branches of local grower Joe Martinez’s almond trees may look bare, but tiny white buds are starting to burst out. Soon the tree’s flowers will blossom and shortly after fill with almonds.

There’s a catch, though.

“We’re a week ahead of schedule,” Martinez said this past week.

The almond bloom is earlier this year than normal due to the warmer weather, which may leave blossoming orchards vulnerable to more extreme weather conditions.

The cold of the past few days could affect the local crop, but as of Saturday it was unknown if the chilly temperatures would be a factor.

Almonds are not the only early bloomers in California. Several freestone peaches and clingpeach orchards in Sutter and Yuba county are experiencing early blooms, said Janine Hasey, a farm adviser in Sutter and Yuba County from UC Davis’ Cooperative Extension.

Clingpeaches, also known as canning peaches, have pits that cling to the peach’s flesh and need to be cut out. Freestone peaches are sold as fresh fruit. Hasey said she noticed that one early blooming variety of freestone peaches has started to bloom one week ahead of time.

“We had enough heat accumulation to break the buds,” she said.

The early warm temperatures can affect an orchard crop’s growth, Hasey said. Various crops, such as almonds and peaches, need enough chill hours, a period of cold weather, for flowers and leaf buds to develop normally.

A low chilling period means that peach orchards could have weaker or more “straggled” blooms, Hasey said. Fertilization will occur over a range of time, which means that the fruit’s size and maturity may also vary.

The peach orchards’ early blossoming may cause producers to shift their treatment of these orchards, Hasey said. Producers need to carefully watch the blossoms to determine when they will start applying fungicides, which they traditionally apply when the orchards are in “pink bud” and full blossom.

“Earlier blossoms will not be protected until the grower applies the first fungicide spray,” she said.

Growers also need to monitor insect pests a pest that infests the fruit. Peach growers in Hasey’s area have caught a few oriental fruit moths earlier than usual.

Regardless of the early blossoms, the possibility of an early peach harvest depends on the weather 30 days after the peach trees go into full bloom.

“Peach development rate is linked to exposure to heat after bloom,” she said, “We had an early harvest in 2004 when we had warm March weather.”

Not all the crops benefited from the sunny February weather. Small grains such as wheat, oats and barley need rain this month to grow, said Kent

Brittan, a farm adviser for Yolo County from UC Davis’ Cooperative Extension. Otherwise, farmers would have had to turn to some expensive alternatives.

“Moisture is critical during the stage in which the grain head is forming in the plant,” he said. “We’ve got good moisture in the heavier soils, through they are starting to crack, but in the sandy soils here, the soil is starting to dry out.”

The warm weather was causing the grasses to grow faster, which leads to more problems, Brittan said. As the plant grow, the small grains start moving out of the soil and using the water faster.

Fortunately mid-month rain spared growers from the expense of irrigating crops. A large number of wheat fields are on tomato beds, Brittan said. Most small grain fields are set up with furrows that farmers can run water through in the same way they treat tomato crops.

“You would have to turn the pump on to get water,” he said. “It can be very costly.”

But mid-month rain could pose bad news for almonds. As long as the almond blossoms aren’t in extreme weather conditions, they will fair well, said Christy Quaresma, spokeswoman for Almond Board of California.

“The bees [used to pollinate the almonds] need a favorable environment to fly around,” she said.

Extreme conditions such as freezing temperatures or heavy rain can have a detrimental impact on the amount of almonds harvested in late summer, Quaresma said.

“California produces over 80 percent of the world’s almonds,” she said, “so if we have a poor bloom season, the global supply will be affected.”

It’s too early to tell if there is going to be an affect on the county’s almond crop, grower Martinez said.

“Hopefully, Esparto won’t have to move the date of its annual almond festival,” Brittan said.