The Philadelphia Flower Show returns indoors to the Pennsylvania Convention Center in 2023, after two years out in the South Philly sun during the pandemic. The largest and longest-running horticultural event in the country will come back as big as ever, but with some important changes.
Two years outside gave the flower show’s organizers a chance to reexamine every part of how they do things at the event, said Seth Pearsoll, the show’s creative director.
“There isn’t probably much that hasn’t been either reconsidered, improved or flipped on its head based off of the learnings of the last few years,” Pearsoll said.
The show runs March 4 to 12 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center at 1101 Arch St. in Philadelphia.
Here’s what to expect:
What will I find at the Philadelphia Flower Show?
Founded in 1829, the Philadelphia Flower Show is less a botany exhibit than a self-contained fantasy world of extravagant blooms and greenery. The event showcases the artistry of more than 40 landscape designers based anywhere from Mexico to Delaware to Sweden.
Exhibits might include bold conceptual pieces like a rainbowed floral cascade from the national Black Girl Florists network or more pastoral architectural creations like those of perennial award-winner Mark Cook Landscape of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
In particular, Pearsoll is excited to showcase Singaporean floral artist Harijanto Setiawan, whose work Paarsoll encountered while judging the famed floral show in Singapore. Apiary Studio is a “cutting edge” floral design firm in Philadelphia, he said, while Oregon’s Iftikhar Ahmed brings a centuries-old history.
“His family has cared for the royal gardens in Pakistan for generations,” Pearsoll said.
You’ll also find arts and crafts workshops, a butterfly garden, live music curated by famed Philadelphia street band Snacktime, and a cocktails for those who find they appreciate the arts best when relaxed.
Oh, and there’ll also be a whole lot of people: More than 260,000 flower fanatics are expected to attend from all over the region and world.
What’s so new about the Philadelphia Flower Show this year?
In past years the flower show was choose-your-own-adventure, a big open plan of colorful blooms where you might wander from garden to garden.
This year, it’s a curated experience, Pearsoll said, an idea they got after listening to feedback from visitors during the flower show’s pandemic years outdoors.
So 2023’s show will feature a garden path as in “Alice in Wonderland,” marked by transparent shimmering veils that draw visitors through from elaborate floral display to elaborate floral display.
“You make your way through a really great, meandering path,” Pearsoll said. “So it’s kind of like this almost unbroken magical garden and flower experience.”
The theme, the Garden Electric, is also a departure, more a concept or a mood than a landscape.
“It’s really about that specific moment when you pass something beautiful — in our case, flowers and gardens. And it’s so beautiful. It makes you pause and it gives you a bit of a jolt.”
What else? The craft activities and story time and the ever-popular butterfly garden, once interspersed all over a big floor, have been gathered into a kid-friendly “giant, bustling, activities hub.”
Oh, gosh. Sounds like a lot. What will we eat?
The Philadelphia Flower Show is located at the convention center, and so you’ll get convention center food from omnipresent food vendor Aramark. But lucky you, you’re also in one of the better food neighborhoods in the region.
Reading Terminal Market, pretty much across the street, features roast pork sandwiches from Tommy DiNic’s, the world’s original chicken and waffles from The Dutch Eating Place, and terrific Salvadoran pupusas and churros from El Merkury. Walk five minutes to Chinatown and get soup dumplings from Tom’s Dim Sum, blisteringly hot Sichuan from EMei, lovely Cantonese BBQ from Lau Kee, or hand-pulled noodle bowls from Spice C.
How do I get to the Philadelphia Flower Show?
The easiest path is on a train. Any regional SEPTA line will empty at Jefferson Station beneath the Pennsylvania Convention Center at 1101 Arch St.
South Jersey residents can take PATCO to the Eighth and Market station, an eight-minute walk away.
Driving into town? You’ll pay to park. Consult philapark.org/garages for the nearest lots.
Oh, and you’ll probably want to buy your tickets in advance. It’s $43.50 for adults, $30 for students and $20 for children, with family discounts available. Find tickets at tickets.phsonline.org.
Matthew Korfhage is a Philadelphia-based reporter for USA TODAY Network.
