Hot. Hot. Hot.
That's not the forecast; that's a description of this year's Macy's-Bachman's flower show.
The show opening today, a rite of spring since 1960, is heating up and heading south with an all-Latin theme. Cutting a wide swath from Brazil to Miami, the "floral fiesta" -- firmly ensconced on the first floor of the downtown Minneapolis Macy's -- will feature boldly colored flowers and fantastic foliage as well as Latino art, music and food.
Flowers will include exotics such as bromeliads, birds of paradise, golden chain trees and a host of palms. Plantscapes will include the deserts of Mexico, the tropics of the Amazon and the temperate zones of South America.
If you hunger to see something that sprouts closer to home, don't worry, there'll be daffodils, too.
"We do want to represent Minnesota spring, as well," said Dale Bachman, president of Bachman's. "So even though it's a bit of a stretch, we'll have rhododendrons, azaleas, weeping willows and some bulbs."
