This is the Men's Garden Club of Philadelphia's entry for 2009 ... "Evening Wine in the Garden." These guys do it right. They don't take themselves too too seriously. They have a ball! Today they were hammering and planting and eating hoagies and doing, I suspect, just a wee bit of tippling. Just a hunch. The club's John Young tells me that as soon as they all heard Italy was the show's theme, "We thought, gee, Italy .. wine .. that sounds good!" The call went out for members to save their old wine bottles for the exhibit. By mid-February, the drive was called off. Members were bringing old bottles in by the caseload. Inside the exhibit tower, there are about 1,000 old bottles. The scene also has three wooden casks, a serene garden with white lights and a pergola. Props will include breads, cheeses and meats for the feast that's about to take place. This is the club's 20th year in the show - I can hear the wine corks popping now - and these guys are always a favorite. They are 180 strong (with waiting list .. imagine!) and while most of them aren't what you'd call true horticulturists, a few are and that's enough. The rest of them are hard workers who like to have fun, which is what most of us are out there in the garden. Perhaps that's their appeal. We can certainly relate. Ciao!