Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is a nonprofit horticultural organization headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in 1827, it was created to promote horticulture as an important field of science and public activity. Rather than operating primarily as a commercial brand, PHS functions as a membership, events, education, community-development, and urban-greening institution. Its work connects gardening and landscape design with public health, food access, neighborhood improvement, environmental stewardship, and social participation. PHS is best known internationally and nationally for the Philadelphia Flower Show, an annual indoor horticultural exhibition widely recognized as the world's largest indoor flower show. The event brings together landscape designers, florists, plant growers, garden organizations, exhibitors, and the public. It has served both as a major cultural attraction for Philadelphia and as a central fundraising and educational platform for the Society. Through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, competitions, and plant-related programming, the show presents horticulture as both an artistic discipline and a practical tool for improving everyday environments. The organization also operates or supports programs that extend beyond the flower show. Philadelphia LandCare promotes the transformation and maintenance of vacant or underused urban land through greening, landscape improvements, and community participation. PHS has also developed community gardening and urban agriculture activities intended to increase access to fresh food, strengthen neighborhood stewardship, and create opportunities for residents. Its Community Greening Award recognizes people and groups across Pennsylvania whose work improves local landscapes and public spaces. PHS has occupied a succession of facilities since its founding. Early meetings took place in several Philadelphia institutions, including the Franklin Institute, the American Philosophical Society, and the Athenaeum. The Society built horticultural halls in the nineteenth century, but its buildings were destroyed by fires in 1881 and 1893. Financial pressures later led to the sale of its building in 1917 and a series of moves through office and institutional spaces. In 1964, PHS combined with the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture and moved to a historic row house in Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood. A significant later development was the 2003 donation of Meadowbrook Farm, a 25-acre estate in Abington, Pennsylvania, by former PHS president J. Liddon Pennock Jr. Meadowbrook Farm includes greenhouses and a retail plant operation and supports preparation of plants for the Philadelphia Flower Show. The site gives PHS a practical horticultural base in addition to its administrative, educational, and event functions. PHS broadened its public reach through the PHS Pop-Up Gardens, first introduced in 2011. The temporary gardens became especially prominent after a 2013 collaboration with FCM Hospitality brought food and beverages into the format, helping create lively seasonal gathering places in central Philadelphia. The initiative connected horticulture with hospitality, nightlife, and informal social use of public urban space, attracting audiences beyond traditional garden-show visitors. In 2019, PHS adopted Vision 2027, a strategic framework that explicitly positioned horticulture as a means of improving health and well-being in the Greater Philadelphia region. The strategy organized the Society's work around healthy living environments, access to fresh food, economic opportunity, and meaningful social connections. As described in reference material, PHS's wider community includes more than 300,000 supporters, volunteers, and gardeners, while its membership exceeded 13,000 in 2021. The organization remains active as a civic and horticultural institution whose programs combine plant culture, public events, neighborhood investment, education, and community engagement.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in Philadelphia in 1827 with the purpose of establishing a horticultural society that would advance the scientific and influential role of horticulture. Its early meetings were held in a number of Philadelphia institutions, including the Franklin Institute, the American Philosophical Society, and the Athenaeum, reflecting the Society's original connection to the city's learned and civic organizations. PHS later developed dedicated exhibition facilities. In 1867 it constructed its first Horticultural Hall, identified in historical accounts as being on Broad Street near Lardner Street or below Locust Street. The building hosted flower and horticultural shows until it was destroyed by fire in 1881. A replacement structure was built, but that building also burned in 1893. From 1895 to 1898, banker and plant collector Clarence H. Clark served as president. During his tenure, PHS built another horticultural hall on Broad Street below Locust, which opened in 1895. Clark was associated with collections of rhododendrons and chrysanthemums. The Society experienced financial difficulty in the early twentieth century. In 1917 it sold its building and moved to space in the Finance Building on South Penn Square. From 1923 through 1946, PHS maintained offices in the Insurance Company of North America Building at 1600 Arch Street. It then rented space above Suburban Station from 1946 to 1964. In 1964, PHS joined with the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture and moved into a historic row house in the Society Hill neighborhood, on Walnut Street between Third and Fourth Streets. This long sequence of relocations illustrates the changing institutional scale and financial circumstances of the organization while preserving its Philadelphia identity. The Philadelphia Flower Show became the Society's signature public program. It developed into a major annual indoor horticultural exhibition, bringing together plant displays, floral design, landscape installations, educational events, and competitive exhibits. The show eventually gained recognition as the world's largest indoor flower show and became an important cultural and tourism event for Philadelphia. It also provided a platform through which PHS could communicate horticultural knowledge to a broad public. In the twenty-first century, PHS expanded its physical and programmatic reach. In 2003, former president J. Liddon Pennock Jr. donated his 25-acre Meadowbrook Farm estate in Abington, north of Philadelphia. The property includes greenhouses and a retail plant shop and is used in connection with preparation of plants for the Philadelphia Flower Show. Meadowbrook Farm gave the Society a substantial horticultural site outside the city while supporting its public-facing plant activities. PHS also developed initiatives focused on urban land and community participation. Philadelphia LandCare promotes the improvement of vacant or underused urban landscapes, linking physical greening with neighborhood stewardship. The Community Greening Award recognizes caretakers across Pennsylvania for beautification and landscape work. These activities reflect a shift from an organization centered principally on exhibitions toward one that treats horticulture as an instrument of community development and environmental improvement. The PHS Pop-Up Gardens further broadened the organization's audience. The first temporary garden opened in 2011 at 20th and Market Streets. The format gained greater public visibility in 2013, when PHS partnered with Avram Hornik's FCM Hospitality for a location at Broad and Spruce Streets. Food and beverages were integrated into the garden environment, creating a seasonal urban gathering place associated with the emerging Philadelphia pop-up beer-garden trend. The program helped connect horticulture with hospitality and informal social life. In 2019, PHS adopted Vision 2027, a strategic plan that committed the Society to using horticulture to advance the health and well-being of Greater Philadelphia. The strategy identified four impact priorities: healthy living environments, increased access to fresh food, expanded economic opportunity, and meaningful social connections. By 2021, the Society reported more than 13,000 members, while broader descriptions of its network referred to more than 300,000 supporters, volunteers, and gardeners. PHS continues as an active nonprofit organization combining horticultural events, education, urban greening, gardening, community engagement, and regional civic work.

• 2019

  Vision 2027 is adopted

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  PHS adopts a strategy linking horticulture to health, food access, economic opportunity, and social connection.

• 2011

  First PHS Pop-Up Garden opens

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  PHS launches its temporary garden program at 20th and Market Streets in Philadelphia.

• 2003

  Meadowbrook Farm is donated to PHS

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  J. Liddon Pennock Jr. donates his 25-acre Abington estate, which includes greenhouses and a retail plant operation.

• 1964

  PHS moves to Society Hill

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Following a merger with the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, PHS moves into a historic row house on Walnut Street.

• 1917

  PHS sells its building

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Financial difficulties lead the Society to sell its building and relocate to rented and office premises.

• 1895

  New horticultural hall opens

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A new PHS hall opens on Broad Street below Locust during Clarence H. Clark's presidency.

• 1893

  Replacement hall is destroyed by fire

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The rebuilt horticultural structure is again lost to fire.

• 1881

  First Horticultural Hall is destroyed by fire

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The original exhibition hall is destroyed in a fire after hosting PHS flower and horticultural shows.

• 1867

  First Horticultural Hall is built

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society constructs its first dedicated Horticultural Hall in Philadelphia for shows and related activities.

• 1827

  Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is founded

  [1]Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org

  PHS is established in Philadelphia to promote horticulture as a scientific and socially influential field.

PHS positions horticulture as a practical civic resource rather than merely a leisure activity. Its programs combine gardening, landscape design, environmental improvement, food access, public events, and community development, with a particular focus on Philadelphia and the surrounding region.

• Horticultural exhibition

  Philadelphia Flower Show

  PHS's signature annual indoor horticultural exhibition, featuring large-scale floral and landscape displays, plant exhibits, design competitions, educational programming, and public events. It is widely described as the world's largest indoor flower show and serves as both a major Philadelphia cultural attraction and a central platform for the Society's horticultural education and public engagement.

• Urban greening

  Philadelphia LandCare

  An urban landscape improvement program that uses greening, maintenance, and community participation to improve vacant or underused land in Philadelphia. The initiative represents PHS's broader approach of applying horticultural practice to neighborhood conditions, public-space quality, environmental improvement, and community stewardship.

• Temporary public garden · 2011

  PHS Pop-Up Gardens

  A series of temporary gardens installed in Philadelphia locations and designed to combine planting, public gathering, and seasonal programming. After a 2013 partnership with FCM Hospitality, selected locations incorporated food and drinks, helping the program appeal to younger audiences and linking horticulture with the city's pop-up hospitality culture.

• Horticultural farm and plant retail · 2003

  Meadowbrook Farm

  A 25-acre PHS property in Abington, Pennsylvania, donated to the Society in 2003. Meadowbrook Farm operates a plant retail shop and greenhouses and supports the preparation of plants used in the Philadelphia Flower Show, giving PHS a permanent horticultural resource outside central Philadelphia.

• Recognition program

  Community Greening Award

  An annual recognition program honoring caretakers and community participants across Pennsylvania for landscape beautification and related greening efforts. The award reinforces PHS's emphasis on local stewardship and public participation in improving gardens, neighborhoods, and shared spaces.

• 2019Vision 2027

  Greater Philadelphia region

  PHS adopted a strategic framework using horticulture to improve regional health and well-being, with priorities covering healthy environments, fresh-food access, economic opportunity, and social connection.

  Outcome. The strategy formally broadened the organization's public-purpose positioning beyond exhibitions toward community and regional impact.

  Source
• 2013PHS Pop-Up Garden and FCM Hospitality partnership

  Philadelphia

  PHS partnered with Avram Hornik's FCM Hospitality for a Pop-Up Garden at Broad and Spruce Streets, integrating horticultural installations with food and drinks.

  Outcome. The format resonated with younger audiences and helped establish the Pop-Up Gardens as seasonal social destinations as well as horticultural projects.

  Source
• 2011PHS Pop-Up Gardens

  Philadelphia

  PHS began creating temporary urban gardens in prominent Philadelphia locations, using horticulture to activate underused spaces and reach audiences beyond conventional flower-show visitors.

  Outcome. The program continued and gained broader cultural visibility after later hospitality partnerships added food, beverages, and social programming.

  Source

• 2019

  Adoption of Vision 2027Strategy

  Background

  PHS sought to define a broader regional role for horticulture and connect its activities with measurable community well-being.

  Action taken

  The Society adopted Vision 2027 and organized its impact priorities around healthy living environments, fresh-food access, economic opportunity, and social connection.

  Aftermath

  The strategy established community health and regional social impact as central elements of PHS's institutional positioning.

  Source

• 2003

  Acceptance of Meadowbrook FarmOther

  Background

  Former president J. Liddon Pennock Jr. offered his 25-acre estate in Abington to the Society.

  Action taken

  PHS accepted the donated property and developed its greenhouses and plant retail activities as part of the organization's horticultural infrastructure.

  Aftermath

  Meadowbrook Farm became a continuing site for plant production, retail, and support of the Philadelphia Flower Show.

  Source

• 1917

  Sale of the Society's horticultural buildingStrategy

  Background

  Poor finances made it difficult for PHS to retain its building.

  Action taken

  The Society sold the property and moved into office space, beginning a period of operation from rented or shared premises.

  Aftermath

  PHS subsequently occupied several Philadelphia locations before moving to Society Hill in 1964.

  Source

1. 1Pennsylvania Horticultural Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Pennsylvania Horticultural Society official websitephsonline.org