Electric City Flower Show's second year in full bloom

Brooke Williams, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·3 min read

Jun. 7—The Electric City Flower Show continues to blossom.

Now in its second year, the event returns to Nay Aug Park on Saturday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with gardening contests, presentations, vendors, music and more. Admission is free.

"Although the flower competition is at the heart of the show, it's so much more than just a flower show," said show manager Carol Deeley.

Gardeners will exhibit everything from azaleas to succulents in several contest categories. Entries closed on Saturday.

"Whether you're a grower and have fields full of flowers, or you have a single flower pot on your window ledge, you have the same chance of winning Best in Show," she said.

Meanwhile, back-to-back presentations all day will educate showgoers on topics like bonsai trees, caring for houseplants, vegetable gardening and cut flowers. Registration isn't required for the presentations, but there's limited seating.

Organizers booked more than double the number of vendors from last year, Deeley said. Growers and artisans will sell items ranging from houseplants and pottery to jewelry and wellness products. Organizations also will have representation.

Visitors can grab lunch or dessert from the show's food vendors. The nonprofit Underground Miners group working to reopen the Brooks Mine at Nay Aug will have hotdogs for sale, and those in attendance can stop by Blackwatch Cafe in the park as well, she said.

This year, Deeley said kids can pick up a map from the Scranton Municipal Recreational Authority tent and collect stickers throughout the park for a chance to win prizes, and the SMRA will do a tree giveaway sponsored by the city's Shade Tree Commission while supplies last.

Showgoers also can check out a NEPA Bonsai Society display in the Greenhouse Project headquarters at Nay Aug, as well as works by local artist Sam Kuchwara in the David Wenzel Treehouse, Deeley added.

The Everhart Museum plans to offer free admission Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with floral-themed crafts from noon to 3 p.m. Outside of the museum at 1 and 2 p.m., Fresh Perspective Productions will give short drone demonstrations, she said.

Deeley, a longtime gardener herself, called the inaugural Electric City Flower Show last year a huge success and said the competition had around 100 entries.

The England native, who now lives in Scranton's East Mountain section, took inspiration from her upbringing in an industrial town. Her family and neighbors participated in community garden "allotments," then had a friendly competition each year in the local church hall.

Deeley especially remembers spending hours disbudding and tying brown paper bags over her father's popular white and purple chrysanthemums.

"It was a very exciting time getting ready for the competitions, eyeing up what everyone else was growing, seeing who might win. Then, on the day of the show, taking off the bags and picking the best blooms," she said. "No one beat my dad's chrysanthemums or my uncle Jabez's fuchsias. I loved that day. It was better than Christmas because it was a community thing, when everyone you knew came together to compete, to share growing tips and hint at the secret ones."

She hopes the show fosters that same love of gardening in the community that people will keep passing on to the next generation.

"I want a bigger and better flower show every year until every inch of the park is the show," Deeley said. "For Nay Aug Park and the hardworking SMRA, I want the show to become an annual major event for Scranton's premier park, drawing people from all over the county, the state, and maybe, one day, the country."

Towne Park will run free shuttles to the show on the hour from downtown Scranton with limited seating, Deeley said. For more information, visit the Electric City Flower Show on Facebook or electriccityflower show.webador.com.

Contact the writer:

bwilliams@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5107;

@BWilliamsTT on Twitter