Philadelphia Public Art

Last Friday night, a random pole in the heart of Easy Passyunk looked like any other pole. But by Saturday morning, it was covered in bright yellow sunflowers.

Call it a Flower Bomb, courtesy of local florist Marianna Coppola.

“Marianna was inspired by this kind of the idea of disruptiveness,” explains Shannon Reynolds of Coppola Creations. “We wanted to do something with a positive message, so we created this idea of a seasonal art installation in Philly.”

Marianna is dubbing her seasonal floral installations as “flower bombing,” similar to those yarn bombs you may have seen all around Philly. She started “flower bombing” the pole with 400 flowers at 3 a.m. on Saturday morning and finished at 7:15 a.m.

Marianna chose the site at 12th and Passyunk, the same neighborhood where her floral studio is located, as the first installation. Says Reynolds, “It’s meant to bring in beauty and something even more positive to an already great area that she’s passionate about.”

And yes, the flowers are meant to be shared. “The message is to take these flowers on your journey around this beautiful neighborhood,” says Reynolds.

Future flower bombs are expected to pop up in other highly-trafficked locations throughout the city. Keep an eye out for the next one, coming to a still secret location in December.