PHILADELPHIA
— The work of a West Grove landscape designer has
been recognized with a top award at the Philadelphia Flower
Show.
The display, “Jazz Up Your Roof (and protect our
water resources)” for the Philadelphia Water Department,
was honored with a Best in Show in the Nonacademic Educational
category.
It was designed by Joe Vetrone Landscaping, the second
top honor the West Grove designer has won in his 15 years
of building exhibits for the water department at the annual
flower show.
The display, which features the benefits of “green
roofs” and how residents can turn rooftops into environmentally
friendly ecosystems, also was recognized at the flower show
by the American Horticultural Society with its Environmental
Award.
“There is great camaraderie among the exhibitors
there, I really enjoy it,” Joe Vetrone said. “It
gets a lot of great environmental messages out to the public.”
The 18-by-30-foot exhibit illustrates a 3-foot-high raised
roof with various grasses and plants that Vetrone said would
thrive in Philadelphia’s climate.
Also in the exhibit are rain chains, which minimize erosion
and splash associated with downspouts and rain barrels that
collect rainwater
for later use in watering plants.
The display tied in nicely to the theme of this year’s
flower show, said Alan Jaffe, public relations manager of
the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which puts on the
event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
“There are a lot of green messages this year,”
Jaffe said. “This one was so thorough, so well thought
out ... there have been a lot of crowds around it.” |
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