By Melissa O’Brien 

For more than 190 years, the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show has delighted attendees with a nine-day celebration of all things floral and gardening. Year after year, this event brings joy to hundreds of thousands of people each winter as they anticipate the newness of spring. 

But the Flower Show is more than just a singular event -- it serves as the main fundraiser for PHS’s year-round efforts to put trees, gardens, and gardeners to work to help build strong social connections, as well as provide access to fresh food, healthy living environments, and jobs and business opportunities across the Greater Philadelphia region. When you buy a Flower Show ticket, you directly contribute to making a greener, healthier, and more sustainable region that improves health and well-being for everyone. 

What Your Flower Show Ticket Supports 

The Flower Show is more than a singular annual event – as a nonprofit organization, PHS utilizes the proceeds from the Show to advance the health and well-being of more than 250 neighborhoods. Your Flower Show ticket funds the thousands of trees PHS plants each year, the design and maintenance of free public gardens for all, and the oversight of a rich network of community gardens.  

Proceeds also provide low-cost programming for people to learn about produce gardening and access to fresh food, support partnerships to provide cleaning and greening services and stormwater management solutions, and expand workforce development programs that put people to work in green jobs.  The impact is far-reaching and includes: 

• Training more than 260 returning citizens in the fields of horticulture and landscaping and placing them in jobs with landscape contractors, helping them on their career journey 
• Planting more than 2,300 trees with local resident volunteers in neighborhoods around the region, bringing clean, healthy air, providing shade and cooler temperatures, and giving people a new greener view of their neighborhood 
• Providing hundreds of thousands of seedlings, plus education, supplies, and advocacy materials that help 170 community gardens produce fresh healthy fruits and vegetables for kitchen tables in our region  
• Cleaning and greening 13,000 vacant lots to support neighborhood safety and improve mental health across the city 

Who Benefits from the Flower Show 

PHS’s work benefits you, your neighbor, and your community. People now have jobs, enjoy cleaner air and cooler temperatures, and have access to fresh, healthy meals -- thanks to the funds raised from the Flower Show. Because of the support PHS receives from Flower Show attendees, neighborhoods are safer and people can come together to build social connections and relieve stress through gardening.   

Each year, PHS is committed to gardening for the greater good to build a better future. Purchase a Flower Show ticket, volunteer, donate, or join PHS as a member to continue this impact for generations to come. We hope to see you at the next Philadelphia Flower Show!