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Credit: Rob Cardillo for The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Best in Show Award, The Governor’s Trophy, and The Philadelphia Trophy Among More Than 30 Awards Presented for Horticultural Excellence

June 23, 2021, PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) announced the award winners for its 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show, “Habitat: Nature’s Masterpiece.” Located in South Philadelphia’s FDR Park, the Flower Show was held outdoors for the first time in its 193-year history from June 5-13, 2021. Garnering inspiration from the Show’s alfresco location, designers created exhibits utilizing the historical district’s stunning natural beauty as its backdrop.

Categories for the 2021 awards included “Best in Show,” “The Governor’s Trophy,” and “The Philadelphia Trophy” among others. To judge this year’s landscape creations, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society handpicked a group of horticultural experts consisting of Flower Show Committee members and gardening professionals.  This year featured the most designers, gardens, and floral displays in the Show’s history, with over 75 unique installations spanning the Show’s 15-acre outdoor footprint for guests to see and interact with.

The coveted “PHS Philadelphia Flower Show Cup--Best in Show” award was presented to East African horticulturalist and landscape designer Wambui Ippolito. Ippolito’s design won by combining color, horticulture, and unique design elements. Influenced by her upbringing in the Great Rift Valley in Africa and lifelong travels, Ippolito’s show garden “Etherea” was a contemporary re-interpretation of the moorlands where humanity’s earliest ancestors lived. The creation evoked light, air, and peace in nature.

Below is the complete list of winners in competitive categories.

ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization founded in 1827, plays an essential role in the vitality of the Philadelphia region by creating healthier living environments, increasing access to fresh food, growing economic opportunity, and building deeper social connections between people. PHS delivers this impact through comprehensive greening and engagement initiatives in more than 250 neighborhoods; an expansive network of public gardens and landscapes; year-round learning experiences; and the nation’s signature gardening event, the Philadelphia Flower Show. PHS provides everyone with opportunities to garden for the greater good as a participant, member, donor, or volunteer. For information and to support this impactful work, please visit PHSonline.org.

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show is the nation's largest and the world’s longest-running horticultural event and features stunning displays by some of the world’s premier floral and landscape designers. The Show has been named “Best Event” by the International Festivals and Events Association and “Best of the Best” by the American Bus Association (for the fifth consecutive year) in 2020-2021.

Started in 1829 by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Show introduces diverse and sustainable plant varieties and garden and design concepts. In addition to acres of garden displays, the Flower Show hosts world-renowned competitions in horticulture and artistic floral arranging, gardening presentations and demonstrations, special events, and the citywide Bloom Philly! pre-Show celebration. Visit: PHSonline.org/the-flower-show

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