E.P. Henry poured 22 tractor-trailer loads of cast stone and the sweat of 40 workers laboring six days straight into the Philadelphia Flower Show.

What the Pitman-based maker of premium pavers gets back is a priceless marketing opportunity.

“Nowhere else can you get 250,000 people with that kind of demographic in one place where you can see and touch our products,” said Jon Bowman, program manager.

E.P. Henry and other companies view the high-profile extravaganza as a time to plant seeds that will be harvested by consumers later. Bowman said E.P. Henry representatives will hand out more than a tractor-load of full-color catalogs by the time the show closes today.

Throughout the week, the company reported an 80 percent increase in hits on its Web site, ephenry.com.

“People come home from the show and then look at our site,” Bowman said. “Although it’s less scientific, we also know that we answer a lot of questions personally for people at the show.”

E.P. Henry collaborated with Subaru of America, headquartered in Cherry Hill, in “The Art of Outdoor Living: A Backyard Dream,” an entertainment oasis complete with barbecue, kitchen, bars, pool and spa — with a shiny new Subaru Tribeca parked outside.

“The columns are made from our new cast stone,” he noted. “People at the show always expect to see something new from us and we don’t want to disappoint them.”

At an exhibit nearby, Dave White and Dan Sargent of White’s Lawn & Landscape sat in director’s chairs, ready to answer questions about the 70-foot babbling brook they installed for the show.

“It’s a huge honor as well as a marketing opportunity — that’s why we made the commitment to be here for the entire show,” said White, who shut down his business for two weeks in order to devote his energies to the event.

Michael Bruce of Michael Bruce Florist in Westmont was last year’s “Best in Show” floral exhibitor.

“That led to us getting an invitation from the government of Singapore,” said Bruce, who represented the United States in the Singapore Garden Festival, taking a bronze award.

This year, Bruce’s “Verdant Haven” interpretation of mossy heaths drew admirers stacked three deep.

The floral designer, himself a passionate gardener, expects he will be hearing from some of them soon.

“This event gives us higher visibility,” he said. “All year long we get calls from people who say they saw us at the flower show.”

Bruce is keeping mum on how much his lavish exhibit cost. But he said it required an investment of 10 people working at least 10 hours a day to install it.

“There was one day when I worked 22 hours, absolutely grueling,” he recalled.

Despite the effort and expense, Bruce said he’ll be ready to answer the call for next year’s show.

“I can’t imagine not doing the Philadelphia Flower Show,” he said. “We’ll be there until they kick us out.”

Reach Eileen Smith at (856) 486-2444 or esmith@courierpostonline.com

source : www.courierpostonline.com By EILEEN SMITH