All of the World’s Fairs, starting with the Crystal Palace in London in 1851, presented the latest trends in horticulture. The 1933 Century of Progress fair in Chicago featured an alpine garden with small alpine plants.
1933 World’s Fair Alpine Garden
The Wonder of Miniature Worlds 
My aunt took me to the Chelsea Flower Show one year where the most fascinating exhibit looked rather like this one pictured here, but it was planted with common garden weeds, all labelled. Everyone was bending down to read the labels and there was a lot of “we have that one” “Oh I always wondered what that was called.” Brilliant idea.