LIFE

Reserve tickets now for the outdoor Philly Flower Show in June

Carol Comegno
Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Classical gazebo of marble rests on a lake bank in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, the site of the Philadelphia Flower Show to be held for the first time outside this year and in June.

Online ticket sales have begun for the 2021 Philadelphia Flower Show, which for the first time in its nearly 200-year history will be staged outdoors and in late spring instead of winter.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) announced Monday that tickets for the June 5 to 13 show in historic Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia are available for purchase at PHSonline.org. 

However, tickets will be limited and early purchase is highly recommended, according to PHS officials. Prospective visitors should reserve a date and time of day when buying a ticket.

Besides show admission, tickets also are available for PHS membership, special show events, tours and hotel packages via the same PHS website. 

Franklin Delano park in South Philadelphia is the venue for this year's outdoor  Philadelphia Flower Show i June

“Given the pandemic, the move to an outdoor venue will allow PHS to present the show safely with social distancing and at the height of the gardening season for new creative expression and horticultural displays with the added health benefits of the outdoors,” said Sam Lemheney, PHS chief of shows and events.

“We are thrilled to be able to celebrate the outdoors and offer joy and beauty after a year that has been marked by so many challenges. This experience is a wonderful example of the enduring and combined power of green space, plants and gardeners to create impact and inspiration.”

EARLIER: Revisit 190 years of the Philadelphia Flower Show

The floral extravaganza is described by PHS as the oldest and longest-running in the United States.

The event is typically held in early March at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City Philadelphia. This year's show will be set amidst lawns, lakes and trees on 15 acres of the 348-acre park, which runs along Pattison Avenue at South Broad Street.

The 'Holland: Flowering the World' exhibit inside a past Philadelphia Flower Show at the Convention Center in Philadelphia.

The park is adjacent to the South Philadelphia professional sports complex, where there is mass transit and access to  I-95, I-76 and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

The flower show, which traces its history to 1829,  revolves around a theme: this year will be "HABITAT: Nature’s Beauty."

There are displays by large landscapers from the region and by colleges, companies, foreign cities or countries, garden clubs and individuals. Vendors sell a wide variety of food and drink, plants, flowers, crafts and garden or lawn-related retail.

This year there will be distinct morning and afternoon show sessions but shorter night hours. Show areas will be split into three sections featuring plants, design and gardening programs for all skill levels of gardeners.

No specific details were yet available for parking, but PHS planners said there will be ample parking available.

Tickets are $45 for adults (for either a morning or afternoon session), $20 for children 5 and older; children 4 and under get in for free. A "young friend" price for visitors 18 to  29 is also available for weekday afternoon sessions from  2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Annual memberships begin at $50, with a $150 membership including tickets to the flower show. Visit PHSonline.org/support-phs/membership or call 1-888-850-8718.

Go: Flower show at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, 1500 Pattison Ave., Philadelphia; hours June 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and June 6 to 13 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.    

Carol Comegno loves telling stories about South Jersey history and our military veterans. Her book, “The Battleship USS New Jersey: From Birth to Berth” is the definitive history of the battleship. If you have a story to share, call her at 856-486-2473 or email  ccomegno@gannettnj.com.

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