The 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show, opening today (June 5), features an outdoor setting for the first time in its 192-year history. The new venue, FDR Park in South Philadelphia, will welcome Bensalem botanical artist Carol Ashton-Hergenhan, reports Tamala Edwards for 6abc. 

Ashton-Hergenhan, a onetime master gardener, has been creatively capturing plants on paper for the past 60 years. 

She is a member of the Philadelphia Society for Botanical Illustrators (PSBI), which led to her appointment as producer of the organization’s 2021 flower show entry. The COVID-inspired theme is “Plants in my Habitat,” intended to celebrate artists who sheltered at home during the pandemic. 

“We asked them to paint the plants that live around them,” she explained. 

She herself chose a house plant. “The piece… is a phalaenopsis orchid, sometimes called a moth orchid,” she said. “And it had so many little freckles and spots; that was a real challenge.”  
 
“I always start with something from life,” said Ashton-Hergenhan. “I will do a quick drawing and then I refine the drawing. I want it to lift off the page,” she explained.  

Participating artists have committed to donating a portion of their onsite sales to Friends of FDR Park. 

“It’s going to be wonderful,” Ashton-Hergenhan gushed. 

More on the reinvented 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show is at 6abc.