Todd Lutte of Jim Thorpe and Jeff Lapp of Hilltop in Bucks County, took home three gold medals last weekend at the 187th Philadelphia Flower Show.

This year's show theme, "Explore America," inspired the team to design and build an educational exhibit using native area plants, titling it "Preservation and Protection: Saving America's Natural Heritage."The pair work for the Environmental Protection Agency's mid-Atlantic region wetlands enforcement and regulation branch, covering Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia."It's a passion for the two of us. We are just trying to keep it going as long as we can," said Lutte.The team has competed in the show for past 20 years.This year the pair won the Gold Medal Award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for the use of Gold Medal plants in a major exhibit, the Alfred M. Campbell Memorial Trophy for a major educational exhibit that demonstrates the most successful use of a variety of plants in a unique fashion and the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania's Special Achievement for the variety of native plants displayed."There were 60-70 species on display with different ways they can be used to help maintain and protect our area," said Lutte.In the 600-square foot station the team constructed a small stream and waterfall surrounded by native azaleas and dogwoods."We get five days to put it up and only six hours to get it out," said Lutte.According to Lutte, the EPA receives only a fraction of funding compared with their competitors."We have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility to be in the show," said Lutte. "We only get one-fifth of a budget the competitors get for their exhibits."Lutte said the biggest cost comes from getting the plants to bloom in a season where they would normally be dormant."Forcing (the plants) is the big trick. Most competitors use Meadow Brooks Farms, but we do it on our own. We're familiar with every plant, and we save a huge amount of money by doing the work in house."The team worked to highlight the importance of keeping native plants in landscape design.The use of native plants has many benefits, according to the EPA, including relatively low maintenance, which saves both time and money. Pollinators, beneficial insects and other wildlife rely on native plants for food and habitat, and invasive species are less likely to colonize an area with an established native plant community.The pair educated the public over the weekend by demonstrating the importance of wetlands and native plants and the valuable role they serve in the environment by improving water quality and reducing shoreline erosion."We figured it would be a good blend," said Lutte. "Wetlands and flower show."