Blog

By Kiersten Cunnane, PHS

Sayonara Summer and Hello Fall! Autumn is officially here and we are so excited. But what does that mean for our gardens? Fall has its own set of distinct planting benefits. Cooler temperatures help not only plants, but gardeners, too! The soil is still warm, allowing roots to grow until the ground freezes, which presents plenty of opportunity to keep up with the perfect fall garden. 

Stock Up on Gardening Essentials

Keep an eye out for fall season discounts and promotions that will inevitably be popping up in garden centers. To get a head of next year’s garden, stock up on equipment, seeds, and plants at lower prices than the rest of the season. Head to Meadowbrook Farm this weekend and next for savings on gardening essentials and houseplants! 

By Kiersten Cunnane, PHS

We are so excited to announce that the 2017 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, "Holland: Flowering the World" won the Grand Pinnacle Gold award for the best overall event from the IFEA (International Festivals & Events Association) ceremonies. This marks the second time in four years that the Philadelphia Flower Show received the top prize, amongst worldwide entries such as the Kentucky Derby Festival, Indianapolis 500 Festival, and competitors in China, Australia, Ireland, The Netherlands, Mexico, and South Korea. Additionally, The Flower Show, took home a record 21 IFEA /Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards in this year's competion. The Pinnacle entries include programs, merchandise, print and broadcast ads, posters and graphics, websites and apps, and many other categories...

By Kiersten Cunnane, PHS

In partnership with the Philadelphia International Airport, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has named the five finalists that will compete to redesign 130 acres of land around the Philadelphia airport - two of which include architecture firms from our very own City of Brotherly Love. The goal of the competition is to create an "Image Maker" landscape that showcases an iconic PHL landscape, enhances the environmental sustainability of the Airport landscape, and provides a customer-friendly arrival and departure experience...

It's time to...

Prop up the perennials.  Right now, a lot of our perennials are blooming their heads off. Unfortunately, sometimes those heads are a bit high above the ground or get beaten down by heavy rains. You can buy fancy peony holders or grow them in tomato cages or tie them up onto bamboo stakes — but remember those election signs I talked about in May, those heavy wire frames covered with cardboard I encouraged you to harvest? Well, now they would make very good props for your bendy friends. Stick them Stick them in the ground and shape them appropriately. Use more than one if necessary.

Denude the grapes. In early spring, I sprayed my grapevines with a fungicide. In late spring, I removed all the leaves from a section to keep the black-rot fungus from spreading from the leaves onto my fruit. Well, now all of the fruit is done, but new leaves are showing evidence ...

By David Schneck, PHS

On Thursday, June 29th I dropped in on the Summer Build-A-School-Garden Workshop put on by PHS at Tilden Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia.

I was treated to an inspiring and energetic morning with over 40 educators from around the region learning how to use gardening and classroom horticulture to reach young people. PHS has been training teachers in school gardening through the Green City Teacher’s program for more than 10 years, and this three-day training session is THE place to come if you want to get your hands dirty – quite literally – in the world of school gardening. You’ll come away with a raft of practical information and inspiration, and join an active and resourceful network of “Green City Teachers” who can help you along the way.

“It’s pretty unique in terms of the content knowledge plus ..."

By Sally McCabe
PHS Associate Director of Community Education

July 14-20, 2017

It's time to ...

1. Revel in basil.  

Basil is exploding in the garden right now in a huge variety of colors, flavors and textures, from the large lettuce-leaf basil to the delicate globe, and the dark purple opal ruffles to the African blue. And in wild scents, like the strong licorice scent of thai basil to the fruity-citrus smell of lemon.  Who knew there was such a mélange?!!  But, if you want it to keep having fat, tasty leaves for pesto, you need to keep deadheading.  Leave a few flowers here and there for the bees and hummingbirds to enjoy, but otherwise keep clipping them off to encourage branching and more foliage. Later in the season I’ll let the flowers ripen to save the seed or leave it for the winter birds, but for now, I take ...

By Sally McCabe
PHS Associate Director of Community Education

June 23-29, 2017

It's time to ...

Deadhead for longer bloom. This is best done while wearing tiedyes.  Remove flowers after they have bloomed.  This prevents pollinated flowers from making fruit or setting seeds, which causes the plant to “senesce” or get old and stop making new flowers. And while you’re in the "remove mood," pinch back the tops of coleus, and of fall-blooming perennials like chrysanthemums, asters and helianthus (I’m trying this on my Jerusalem artichoke sunflowers this year) to promote branching and make more flowers happen later in the season ...

By Noelle Blizzard

The first day of summer – also known as the summer solstice – is upon us. This means the warmest, most beautifully blooming season is just around the corner and it's finally time to celebrate. But, before we do, PHS is hard at work, building beautiful, healthy, more sustainable communities (today, and every day for that matter) and will celebrate accordingly!

Today at PHS ...

By Sally McCabe
PHS Associate Director of Community Education

June 16-22, 2017

It’s time to…

Take advantage of Fathers’ Day sales.  It’s not just for Dad! No matter your gender or offspring status, this is the week to stock up on everything tool-related.

1. Get to like the things you hate.  

Mulberries and snakes are very popular these days, and both can be useful if taken in small doses.  Snakes are eating all the annoying ground-dwelling bugs and small mammals, so leave them alone to get on with their business.  Mulberries, on the other hand, should be embraced. We loved them as kids, but as our palates got more discerning, we realized they taste like mush. But if you shake all the ripe ones off the branch and leave them for the snakes to guard, the not-quite-ripe ones are actually slightly tart and tasty ...

By Julie Bare
Estate Gardener, PHS Meadowbrook Farm

“I Love This Plant” Series - May

Let's talk about marginally hardy plants—

The gardeners at PHS Meadowbrook Farm are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is considered hardy in our cold hardiness zone, we are zone 6. When Mr. Pennock’s, founder of PHS Meadowbrook Farm, built his house at 1936, he positioned it so that the back of the house and the patio were facing directly south. Southern exposure is ideal for plants that like full sun. Southern expose coupled with a stone house and stone patio that retain heat make an ideal microclimate for growing plants that might not typically survive our winter without protection. 

Back in the 1940’s when Mr. Pennock was planting the first gardens around his house, he had access ...

By Noelle Blizzard

If summer in Philly could be summed up in one er, four words, they would be, PHS Pop Up Gardens.

PHS, and Philadelphia for that matter, are known locally and globally for terrific gardens and easy access to some of the most iconic green spaces, and now, some of those spaces have been enlivened with entertainment and refreshments for the enjoyment of all.

This year, residents and visitors alike will be able to take full advantage of two PHS Pop Up Garden locations all summer long.

The gardens promise enticing food, craft brews and botanical cocktails, games and entertainment … not to mention breathtaking garden views and flowers galore. Cool right?

By Sally McCabe, PHS Associate Director of Community Education

It all started with the ginkgos.  

I’ve had a ginkgo tree in front of every house I’ve lived in since becoming an adult, and I thought I knew everything there was to know about them. Especially the fruit. So I was very  surprised to learn that the fruit wasn’t even a fruit at all!  

When you get down to botany, ginkgo is considered a GYMNOSPERM, or “naked seed” plant. (As opposed to an ANGIOSPERM or a plant that flowers and then has the seeds enclosed within an ovary or fruit, of course.)  

(Like everybody already knows that, right?)  So because the ginkgo doesn’t exactly flower, the “fruit” is just a seed without ...