Four years ago, my wife and I took my younger son and a girlfriend for a short trip to New York City for spring break.  Although my wife had been to the city before, for the rest of us it was the first time.  New York is iconic and so over the top.  I can’t imagine any first-time visitor not being impressed, or at least astounded.  Of course, we hit several of the top tourist sites, such as the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, but we also took in the major stores on Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue.  We even made a few small purchases just for the bragging rights.

Oddly enough, the most beautiful and stunning site I saw on the trip was not one of the traditional NYC landmarks but was inside Macy’s Department Store.  The Flower Show, with its elaborate gardens and beautiful arrangements, has been a Macy’s spring tradition for the past 41 years.  Every available space was like an oasis of color and foliage.  Plants were all arranged on the tops of display cases, tucked into shelves, and scattered on counters throughout the entire store.  Corners were transformed into mini gardens.  There were exotic plants from around the world, and Macy’s brings in some of the top arrangers to put it all together.  It is a spectacular event that I highly recommend.

As I was wandering around from one department to the next, I kept imagining how much work it would take to pull off something like this show.  The set up must go on for days, and the clean up afterwards has to be a nightmare.  Macy’s has a special page on their website devoted to the annual event, which includes a fascinating time-lapse video of the installation of the show.  It’s truly amazing to watch.