Independent Arts News Reporting Floral Design Program Wins Again at Philadelphia Flower Show
Reported on Monday, March 16, 2026.
Pictured Above: Amparito Arriaga, Certified Floral Designer from Exton and a student in Bucks County Community College’s floral design program. Full description below. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: NEWTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
In only its second year, the College picked up another medal at the prestigious horticultural expo for its ‘Rooted in Art’ tribute to Stella Elkins Tyler
Newtown, PA — Bucks County Community College’s floral design program has once again taken home a prize in only its second year participating in the Philadelphia Flower Show. Students, alumni, and instructors earned a bronze medal for “Rooted in Art,” reflecting the College’s origins of being founded on the Newtown estate of artist and educational philanthropist Stella Elkins Tyler. The exhibit features Tyler’s sculpture “Joan of Arc at Orleans,” donated to the College by Carol Tyler, who visited the show with College President & CEO Dr. Patrick M. Jones. The exhibit features seven original floral designs, each interpreting the connection between nature, art, and education, alongside six selected student works from the College’s School of Arts and Communication.
Dr. Partrick M. Jones (left), President & CEO of Bucks County Community College, and Carol Tyler admire the College’s floral design program’s exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show featuring “Joan of Arc at Orleans” by Stella Elkins Tyler. The sculpture, donated to the College by the Tyler family, is the centerpiece of the College’s award-winning “Rooted in Art” exhibit. The College was founded on the Tyler estate in Newtown more than 60 years ago.
Melanie Poff (left) and her mother Els Poff, both Certified Floral Designers from Doylestown and students in Bucks County Community College’s floral design program, helped surround “Joan of Arc at Orleans” by Stella Elkins Tyler with botanical beauty at the Philadelphia Flower Show. The sculpture is part of the “Rooted in Art” exhibit, reflecting the deep connection between art, education, and nature that Stella Elkins Tyler championed throughout her life.
Amparito Arriaga, a Certified Floral Designer from Exton and a student in Bucks County Community College’s floral design program, installs part of the “Rooted in Art” exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show. The exhibit features seven original floral designs, each interpreting the connection between nature, art, and education, alongside six selected student works from the College’s School of Arts and Communication.
A team of 20 students, alumni, and instructors from Bucks County Community College’s floral design program helped install “Rooted in Art” at the Philadelphia Flower Show, which reflects the College’s origins of being founded on the Newtown estate of artist and educational philanthropist Stella Elkins Tyler. The exhibit features one of Tyler’s original bronze sculptures, “Joan of Arc at Orleans,” pictured in the background.
