The PHS Pop Up Garden at South Street, designed by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Public Horticulture team, provides a luscious pop of color, and shade in the midst of a city block, with a fusion of tropical and Mediterranean flowers and foliage.
“An abundance of annuals and perennials throughout the garden attract pollinators,” says Leah Blanton, PHS Project Manager, Public Landscapes. She chose many great pollinator-friendly plants for this design including the deep purple Salvia ‘Caradonna’ — a favorite of the ruby-throated hummingbird, Gomphrena, Penstemon, salvias, Vernonia, and Verbena, to entice pollinators to visit the garden.
In the shadier areas, exotic tree ferns have been added for texture including Cyathea australis and the large and bold elephant ear leaves of Farfugium. “Several selections of agaves —succulents that are drought-resistant and thrive in the shade — have been used for their dramatic leaves,” says Blanton.
Cristina Tessaro, PHS Pop Up Garden Associate Director, shares her favorites with us on this video tour. She especially loves the succulents she has planted in a pig trough she found, the houseplants throughout the garden, and all the colors and textures that knit this garden together. Just a few of the colorful plants you’ll see include the golden-leaved Sedum ‘Angelina’, silvery lavenders, the South African native; Melianthus major, and, of course, Euphorbia ‘Sticks of Fire’ with its tints of orange!
