PHS: Flower Show Returns to Convention Center
When most people think of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), they immediately think of the Philadelphia Flower Show. But, PHS is much more than the flower show.
I have worked with PHS to document the annual flower show for 4 years now. For two years, the show moved outdoors to FDR Park. But, 2023 marks the return of the Flower Show to its traditional home in the Philadelphia Convention Center.
Making the commercial to announce the Flower Show’s venue change and this year’s theme — The Garden Electric — was a lot of fun. The Flower Show is the organization’s largest fundraiser each year and allows them to raise enough money to support their mission year-round.
The mission of PHS is to use gardening and greening to help make a healthier Philadelphia. PHS believes gardening and greening can make positive social and environmental changes. And their numbers show their wide impact across the region.
By the numbers….PHS:
- provides hundreds of gardening and greening jobs in the Philadelphia region;
- makes 40 job-training placements to people new to horticulture;
- plants 2,300 trees in public spaces each year;
- grows and gives away 250,000 seedlings each year to 170 community gardens;
- cleans, greens, and tends to thousands of vacant lots and gardens in public spaces each year.
So, if you’ve ever gone to the Philadelphia Flower Show or plan to start, know that the money from your ticket helps support a citywide community of gardens and green space.
Many thanks to Pat Rapa for his production assistance on this project and at the Flower Show over the years (see video below from the 2022 Flower Show).