Hooray! Philadelphia Flower Show Returns to Indoor Event

By Jill Brooke

Flower lovers can breathe a sigh of relief that the Philadelphia Horticultural Society just announced it will return to holding its Philadelphia Flower Show event indoors next March 4-12, 2023.

Due to Covid-19 concerns, the Flower Show transitioned outdoors to South Philadelphia’s FDR Park for the past two years for the month of June, vs. March.

For florists, June is wedding season when they are not only booked for the 2.6 million weddings that are being crammed into their busiest season but also many weddings that were delayed are happening now.  To ask florists to be both creative and available was a big ask and I was told that florists were worried that PHS may be a bit punitive for those who had to bail because of previous obligations. Because this is such a prestigious event, they pick and choose who gets invited.

Therefore, many florists didn’t have as much breathing room to reach the potential of their creative energy.

And of course, flowers wilt in the heat of summer when an event is outdoors for a whole week. Therefore, as we reported, the Philadelphia Flower Show was a terrific showcase for landscape designers with meadows of plants and flowers dotting FDR park in lovely and impactful ways.

But if you are a. flower lover – like I am – I want to see zillions of varieties of special flowers – ranging from Rosaprima ranunculus and roses – including the new earth-toned Moab rose –  to David Austin’s Princess Grace rose which was part of the 2019 show that honored the late Monoco royal and Philadelphia native.

For the March show at the Philadephia Convention Center, florists can play once again with not only colors and flower varieties but are in the position to let their creative juices flow in exciting ways. Can’t wait to see what these talents will do but it will be dazzling.

After all, the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show is the United States’  largest and the world’s longest-running horticultural event and features stunning displays by some of the world’s premier floral and landscape designers. Started in 1829 by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Show introduces diverse and sustainable plant varieties and garden and design concepts and is also a venue to introduce the public to some of the world’s most celebrated floral stars.

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD,  floral editor for Aspire Design and Home magazine and contributor to Florists Review magazine.