The Philadelphia Flower Show is an annual event produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and traditionally held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March.[1] It is the oldest and largest indoor flower show in the world,[2] attracting more than 250,000 people annually.[3] It has also been described as "the country's oldest, largest, and most prestigious celebration of flowers."
The show features large scale gardens, which range from elaborate landscaped displays to individual and club entries of a prize horticultural specimen. Each year, the PHS declares an official theme. The exhibits are submitted for judging in many categories, and are highly competitive.
A popular part of the show floor is the Garden marketplace where visitors can buy plants and seeds, cut flowers, craft items, and other flower, landscaping and horticulture-related items.[4]
The Show boasts fabulous floral and garden design, live entertainment, culinary events and extraordinary gardening how-to workshops and lectures by experts.
The June 2022 event will feature 40 major exhibitors, featuring the theme "In Full Bloom."[5]
In 2021 and 2022, the show was held outside in the summer at FDR Park due to COVID-19 pandemic. It returned to the Convention Center in March 2023 with the theme "The Garden Electric."
Competitors
The amateur division of the show known as the Competitive Classes often have an assigned theme, related to the overall show theme. The 2007 Show, Legends of Ireland, featured Pressed Plant Material (i.e. dried flower pictures) that "incorporated a Celtic Knot." The first weekend's Medium Niche theme was Wish You Were Here "Exhibitors will be sent Irish postcards for inspiration. A copy of the postcard will be mounted next to the exhibit."[6] Entrants for that class typically have a mockup of the niche at home, where they practice assembling and lighting their entry in the months preceding the show. In a Challenge class, entrants bring only pruning shears, and must use show-provided materials to interpret a theme within a limited amount of time.[7] Three typical Horticulture classes are 142: Clivia, flowering. Pot 8" or under, 143: Clivia, flowering. Pot 8"-10", and 144: Clivia, foliage. (There was also a Clivia entered in 2007 under Exceptional plants 10–20 years old, to be judged against “perfection” for their species/cultivar.)
Seth Pearsoll, PHS director of design, stated the desired type of Flower Show participants:
We want designers who are firmly rooted in horticulture and great plant design, but who also are thinking about culture at large and how these designs relate to those issues. We want guests to be moved and delighted and to be changed, in some small way, by these gardens and the ideas behind them.[8]
History
The international nonprofit organization Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in 1827.[9] The site claims the PHS "uses horticulture to advance the health and well-being of the Greater Philadelphia region," and that their programs "create healthier living environments, increase access to fresh food, expand access to jobs and economic opportunity, and strengthen deeper social connections between people."[9]
In 1829, the first Philadelphia Flower Show was held[10][11] in a Freemason building.[11]^ The one-day exhibition showcased fruit, flowers, and plants.[11] This included the poinsettia, a plant then-newly imported from Mexico, which was exhibited by Colonel Robert Carr.[12] The Encyclopedia of American Folklife credits the flower show with introducing poinsettias as an American Christmas tradition,[13] as the festival introduced the plant to hundreds of Americans.[14]
There were no shows in 1917–18 nor 1942–45.[citation needed]
In 1925, the PHS joined the Florist Club, an association of local florist businesses. The 1925 show attracted 84,000 people. In 1927, Philadelphia Flower Show, Inc. was established; it assumed management of the Flower Show until the mid-1960s.[15]
In 1964, Philadelphia Flower Show Inc. halted production of the show due to difficulty finding a suitable exhibition location. The show returned in 1966, moving to the now-demolished Philadelphia Civic Center, where it remained each year until 1996, when it moved to its present location at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Today, PHS[16] contributes to the local economy and the green life of Philadelphia and the region. Proceeds from the Flower Show support thousands of revitalization projects in communities. In recent years, a youth division was added to the pressed flower category, with the most recent winner being Kendall Wolson, a 17-year-old student from New Jersey who created a scene depicting two bears catching fish in a river.
In 1981, total attendance was 230,000; 210,000 were guests who had paid admission, and the rest were exhibitors, judges, PHS members, and the press.[17]
In 2021, the Philadelphia Flower Show was held outdoors at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in June instead of its usual location at the Pennsylvania Convention Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time the Philadelphia Flower Show was held outdoors.[18] The 2022 show was also held at FDR Park.[19] In 2023, the Philadelphia Flower Show will return to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and will be held in March.[20]
Dates and themes
Dates and themes
Year
Date range
Theme
2020
February 29 - March 8
Riviera Holiday
2019
March 2 - 10
Flower Power
2018
March 3 - 11
Wonders of Water
2017
March 11 - 19
Holland: Flowering the World
2016
March 5 - 13
Explore America
2015
February 28 - March 8
Celebrate the Movies
2014
March 1 - 9
ARTiculture
2013
March 2 - 10
Brilliant!
2012
March 4 - 11
Hawaii: Islands of Aloha
2011
March 6 - 13
Springtime in Paris
2010
February 28 - March 7
Passport to the World
2009
March 1 - 8
Bella Italia
2008
March 2 - 9
Jazz It Up!
2007
March 4 - 11
Legends of Ireland
2006
March 5 - 12
Enchanted Spring...A Tribute to Mother Nature
2005
March 6 - 13
America the Beautiful
2004
March 7 - 14
Destination Paradise
2003
March 2 - 9
Festival de Las Flores
2002
March 3 - 10
The Pleasures of the Garden
2001
March 4 - 11
Great Gardeners of the World
2000
March 5 - 12
Gardens for the New Millennium
1999
March 7 - 14
Design on Nature...the Art of Gardening
1998
March 1 - 8
La Passion du Jardin
1997
March 2 - 9
The Great Exchange - People, Places, and Plants
1996
February 25 - March 3
This Land is Your Land - "Philadelphia In Flower"
1995
March 5 - 12
Moments in Time...A Galaxy of Gardens
1994
March 6 - 13
Islands in the Sun
1993
March 7 -14
Preserving the Past, Presenting the Future
1992
March 8 - 15
Horizons for Discovery
1991
March 10 - 17
Endless Spring
1990
March 11 - 18
Purely for Pleasure...Gardens for the Senses
1989
March 5 - 12
Kaleidoscope...The Wonderful World of Color
1988
March 6 - 13
The World is Your Garden
1987
March 8 - 15
The Way We Were...Gardens from the Past
1986
March 9 - 16
Hometown USA
1985
March 3 - 10
A Touch of Britain...Our Garden Heritage
1984
March 11 - 18
A Trip to the Orient
1983
March 6 - 13
Follow the Sun
1982
March 7 - 14
Penn's Greene Countrie Towne
1981
March 8 - 15
N/A
1980
March 9 - 16
N/A
1979
March 18 - 25
N/A
1978
March 5 - 12
N/A
1977
March 13 - 20
N/A
1976
March 7 - 14
N/A
1975
March 9 - 16
N/A
1974
March 10 - 17
N/A
1973
March 11 - 18
N/A
1972
March 12 - 19
N/A
1971
March 7 - 14
N/A
1970
March 15 - 22
You and Your Garden
1969
March 9 - 16
Flowers Round the World
1968
March 10 - 17
N/A
1967
March 12 - 19
A Carnival of Flowers
1966
March 12 - 17
Natural Beauty in Town and Country
1965
March 13 - 18
N/A
1964
March 8 - 14
An Abundance of Flowers
1963
March 10 - 17
N/A
1962
March 11 - 18
Garden Bounty
1961
March 5 - 11
N/A
1960
March 7 - 12
Dancing Waters
Previous dates extend to 1829, but PHS did not record their dates and themes in the above listing.[21]
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