Local Business Wired For Huge Flower Show
A local business is preparing to be part of something big - REALLY big - this month at the Mall of America. Tropical Plants Unlimited of Hugo will be a major part of the team presenting "The World's Largest Indoor Tulip Show" there January 19-28.
The tulip show is the first of a series of three "Park In Bloom" shows at the Mall this winter and it will be an extravaganza of color and form. Over 30,000 tulips will stick up from, hang over and carpet The Park at MOA. Topiaries managed by the Hugo company will be a large part of the display.
Photo by Deb Barnes
Topiaries are plants that are cultivated and pruned into recognizable shapes as they grow. Often wire forms filled with a growth medium to support the plants growing around and through them are used. Ricardo Edelstein, owner of Tropical Plans Unlimited, is an expert at working with wire topiaries, which is why his company was asked to work on this project.
Roger Grothe is president of Aloha Landscaping, Mendota Heights, which is pulling the show together. He is excited about working with Edelstein.
"Ricardo's abilities are just perfect for this type of show. He'll provide so many of the small touches necessary to pull this off," stated Grothe.
And it won't be easy because the topiaries will not be planted. Typically, topiaries take years to grow and fill in, but the schedule for the show didn't allow for that. Rather, the wire forms will be filled with wet sphagnum moss and the blooms will be inserted the night before the show starts.
"We'll be working from 9:00 in the evening on the 18th until the sun comes up on the 19th, inserting the flowers," Edelstein said. He is looking forward to the challenge of working with some very large pieces, including a 14-foot-tall windmill and arch built by Mike Bauer of Bauer Custom Welding in St. Paul. It was delivered to Edelstein's store in pieces due to its size. The 80 or so topiaries Edelstein typically has available for sale at his store range from small to big, but not that big!
Grothe is pleased that Edelstein is part of this show because his expertise with the topiaries leaves Grothe and his team free to concentrate on other aspects of the presentation. "This is the biggest indoor tulip show in the world. In fact, I think it will be the premier flower show in America. It certainly will be the earliest in the traditional flower show season," said Grothe.
"We've been planning this since last July," Grothe continued. "The show is being designed by Jody Puleo, who, with her husband Frank, owns Lebens Floral, which is also in Hugo. Bachman's is supplying all of the blooms. Kevin Showell, a wood sculptor from Minneapolis, is carving a 6-foottall Dutch wooden shoe out of a single piece of wood. Cheryl Fitzgerald, a well-known metal garden artist from Rochester, is furnishing some of the framework designs for the topiaries.
"We're particularly pleased to have the Walker Art Center involved. They will be providing artwork from about 30 aspiring artists to complement the flower displays, added Grothe." With colorful tulips and whimsical topiaries on tap, this free flower show seems to be just the ticket to help beat the winter blahs.