Top Breathtaking Blooms & Garden Picks to See at the 2026 Flower Show Opening Today
Step into the breathtaking world of Rooted Origins of American Gardening at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show 🌸, where Native Plants take center stage and American Landscaping Origins are reimagined with glamour 🧚✨ I’m still swooning from all the beauty we experienced at the Press Preview. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) , who have hosted the annual award-winning ~ and award-giving ~ flower-fest since 1829, officially opens its doors to the public today and runs through March 8th. The Flower Show is celebrated as the nation’s largest and the world’s longest-running horticultural event, featuring heart-clutching, magically stunning displays imagined and created by the world’s premier floral and landscape designers. (I covered the pre-show First Looks here.
If you’ve been dipping your toe into the world of Native Plant garden design, or wondering what the heck all this talk about native plants is; or, if you’ve heard about the burgeoning trend to use our native plants in order to best foster a healthy, sustainable ecosystem but just haven’t cottoned to the “look,” this show is for you.
Ever since I began designing gardens as a business back in (gulp) before 2000, I have been using native plants, notably our Paw Paw tree (even making a Paw Paw Panicotta from its fruits), the red-leafed Aronia, Joe Pye Weed & Little Joe 😀 , Amsonia, and more. My clients appreciated the aesthetic ~ or my interpretations. (I always enjoyed The very best clients!) But I know of many folks who consider the look “messy,” preferring the more sculpted or traditionally manicured, ornamental garden style. In our professional horticulture circles, we’ve been learning and espousing the native plant clarion call for a long time, winning advocates slowly but surely.
I feel this year’s PHS show is going to be The game-changer. It will mark the formal acknowledgement and embrace of using native plants to create beauty in our gardens. No compromises.
Further, in celebration of America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, Rooted: Origins of American Gardening “honors the people, places, and traditions that have shaped gardening in the United States, inviting visitors to explore how personal stories, culture, and creativity are deeply connected through plants.”
You will gorgeous, beautiful, stunning, immersive, (you get the idea) in garden after garden display. I found the garden installations particularly robust; dense this year. They resonated with sophisticated integrity and scope.
I was impressed by how much research and thoughtful design work had gone into the installations. For me, that’s key. A pretty garden plot, or vase for that matter, can be soulless. But when created with intention and knowledge and mindfulness about the enduring narrative, you elevate the garden design to the level of garden art. Part of creating that garden art is knowing one’s garden’s history.
Walking the show, you will learn so much.
The entrance to the show is always a woo-hoo eye-candy visual and this year’s drama delivered.
An entry display, The Forest Floor, is a “lush woodland” that features four distinct garden beds each with its own botanical personality: topiaries and standards, carnivorous pitcher plants at the water’s edge, orchids in customer stone sculptures, and carefully shaped bonsai. The effect is a timeless garden that resists easy categorization” says the exhibit label.
I particularly loved the Schagger Designed Floramere: A Living Network.
Let me give you a bit of background to explain why before I describe this ingenious design.
I have long ascribed to the interconnectedness of plant networks and the recognition that plants have a language ~ that they communicate. We all just hadn’t been able to crack the Rosetta Stone or code to understand them (our loss). In fact, when I saw Avatar with its depiction of the Mother Tree, I was like, “YES, that’s it.”
I didn’t have the vocabulary to express these beliefs and then the ecologist, scientist, TEDx Presenter and author of Finding the Mother Tree, Suzanne Simard, gave us a way to approach this exciting world of the plants and trees networked symbiosis. I read her first book with religious fervor and am now reading the ARC of her soon-to-be released book, When the Forest Breathes.
So when I saw the Floramere display, my heart sang with a feeling of love and wonder. Of coming home…
Their interpretive panel summarizes the design of the Living Network’s two sides ~ you walk under a hanging chandelier of floral and mycelium, and around the displays. “The contrasting sides anchor the installation, each rising from its own roots. Above, a network inspired by mycelium connects them, symbolizing partnership, collaboration, and shared growth. Together, the forms tell a story about separate beginning intertwining, revealing the unseen connections that allow ideas, relationships, and creative exchanges to flourish.”
You too will love the two fairy-like human forms ~ the Architect of Forms where “His heart joins Hers and their magic lifts the earth. Their joined vision becomes structure. Structure gives strength.” Look how pretty the mycelium looks!
Reluctantly, I turned from Floramere. But then discovered Jennifer Designs’ exploration into our human language (whew, because I have not yet grasped Suzanne’s mycelium-based one. Yet. 😉) And as a writer/author, especially about plants, I scurried over to learn about the “language of horticulture and Shakespeare ~ one grounded in soil the other in words.” According to the interpretive panel, “Both languages are rooted in history, tradition, and symbolism. Inspired by nature, gardens, flowers, and roots become a metaphor, or a messenger, and a stage experience…”
The other fantastic garden design is the American Anemoia created by my horticulture friend, Kelly D. Norris, author Plants with Style, Your Natural Garden A Practical Guide to Caring For An Ecologically Home Garden, (and others) native plant leader and sherpa, and award-winning designer. I teased him today that “I called it” yesterday, upon hearing today that, in fact, PHS had awarded Kelly its prestigious Gold medal award and a special achievement for creativity. Cheers to Kelly and David in the absence of its gardener, an ostensibly ornamental garden grows with the patina of time. Overcome with abundance, the garden blurs the lines between past and present, revealing the tension and elasticity of gardening with native plants in America over the last 250 years,” notes his interpretive panel.
Plus, he and his husband created this fabulous Exhibition Catalog to accompany the display. I adore he and David’s artful approach to garden art.
Kelly’s garden design features a traditional picket fence and arbor to draw you in, and then upon looking closer you will see all the gorgeous native plants in a very handsome style.
Kudos!
Another display I’ll highlight here is the one that celebrates my Lenape heritage. The W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, Uprooted, Re-Planted shows a watershed spring slowly trickling down into the reflecting pools, characteristics “that the Lenape people” embraced in the Easter landscape. The exhibit shows an understory woodland edge succession, “three sisters” cropland: all celebrating the original stewards of our land and what we can still learn from these First Nation people.
My Atomic Number by Arrange, LLC offers a new way to view our world in a most creative ~ and colorful way. Orange is the happiest color, said Frank Sinatra 🧡 Some Rooms with a Hue:
I always admire and respect the exhibitions from Apiary Studios and their display this year continues the legacy of innovative, ecological creations.
The Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School has an extraordinary display! I asked them how long it took them to do and they said they’ve been working on it since last October; the display taking four days. It’s brilliant. You’ll see how they repurposed containers, using seeds from their community partners, TrueLove Seeds, and paying homage to the ancestors at the central table.
Whimsical Displays Abound.
You’ll enjoy taking in these creations:
Rosemary & Juliet! A Wrinkle in Thyme! War & Peas! The Garden Gatsby! Stop it. Too cute!
And I loved these two ladies taking in the Members Day preview in their lawn chairs. I asked if I could take their photo and they asked, “Why? Do we look that bad?” I replied, “No, you look so adorable.” They complied. Then they instructed me to give them my phone so they could take my picture. “Why?” I asked. “Because you’re somebody.” What? “We can tell that you’re a ‘somebody’…” Ha. Who needs Jesse Jackson when you have these two dames making you feel like a somebody! Thank you.
And loved this show-goers floral hat!
Even the trash cans are pretty, sporting happy florals.
Tablescape Designs
And of course, some of my favorites: the dramatic garden-inspired Tablescape creations are featured at a few places throughout the show.
Look at those Rose Pillows!
It was a transporting preview. Today, we head back to complete our show visit, taking in the Butterflies and the Marketplace, along with all the Horticulture entries and winners.
“PHS is sharing its list of can’t-miss experiences for attendees. From breathtaking gardens and international floral artistry to hands-on workshops, family-friendly fun, and signature after-hours events, the Flower Show offers unforgettable moments for visitors of all ages and interests.
Now in its 197th year, the award-winning PHS In celebration of America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, Rooted: Origins of American Gardening honors the people, places, and traditions that have shaped gardening in the United States, inviting visitors to explore how personal stories, culture, and creativity are deeply connected through plants.
The Flower Show is more than a place to view beautiful exhibits; it is a hub for discovery, creativity, and shared experiences. To support this multi-dimensional experience, PHS will debut a thoughtfully reimagined layout supported by a new wayfinding framework that helps guests easily navigate the Show through five core experiences: SEE, SHOP, MAKE, LEARN, and PLAY. From first look to final stroll, the framework encourages guests to move through the Show with intention, curiosity, and delight.
Tickets for the 2026 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show are on sale now at tickets.phsonline.org. For the latest information, visit phsonline.org/the-flower-show
For questions, please email flowershowtickets@pennhort.org
Can’t Miss Events & Experiences
SEE: “First Ladies and their Orchids” - A Floral Tribute to American History
This exhibit by Chadwick and Son Orchids showcases the nineteen consecutive U.S. First Ladies who have had orchids named in their honor, beginning with Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. Weaving together horticulture and history, the display explores how orchids have been used to honor and remember these figures over time.
SEE: Emerging Florists Display Area - Floral Stories Come to Life
Experience a refreshed floral display area featuring four side-by-side installations created by emerging florists from around the world. Showcasing fresh talent through bold colors and distinctive design approaches, these colorful blooms and displays offer a unique look at how culture, memory, and personal history shape the artistry of up-and-coming floral designers.
SEE: PHS Gold Medal Plants - Award-Winning Choices for Every Garden
See how award-winning plants perform in real garden settings with a curated display featuring the 2026 PHS Gold Medal Plant winners. This hands-on showcase brings together standout trees, shrubs, and perennials selected by experts for their ease of care, seasonal interest, value to wildlife, commercial availability, and success in Mid-Atlantic gardens. Designed to help you confidently choose the right plants for your own space, the display shows how these environmentally responsible, high-performing plants can thrive when planted with purpose.
SEE: Competitive Classes - Big Statements and Mini Marvels
The Flower Show’s Competitive Classes celebrate the creativity, skill, and dedication of gardeners and designers across a wide range of horticulture and design categories. Don’t miss the beloved Miniature Settings class, where small-scale entries bring historical moments to life, proving that great design can come in even the tiniest forms. This year in the Design Classes, we’ll see the return of balconies, giving designers a compact space to interpret an artist’s vision with live plants, containers, and accessories. The beloved Botanical Arts section will highlight floral-inspired creations that travel through iconic style eras, from Gilded Age elegance and old Hollywood glamour to disco and retro fashion. Using plant material to reinterpret jewelry, couture, and accessories, these imaginative works celebrate how botanical artistry reflects changing tastes and creative expression across decades.
SEE: "Before 250” - Honoring Pennsylvania’s Indigenous Roots
Presented by W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, this exhibit honors the Lenni Lenape people and Indigenous roots in Pennsylvania by highlighting connections between culture, environmental stewardship, and the use of native plant species. The display features a Pennsylvania forested hillside with a flowing stream, a re-created Lenni Lenape site, and tree species at multiple stages of growth, offering a reflection on how the land has been cared for and shaped over time.
SEE: Celebrate America’s 250th with the American Landscape Showcase
Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, four world-renowned designers interpret the roots, traditions, and resilience of American gardening. Made possible by the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, these gardens blend history, culture, and contemporary design to show how gardening shapes communities.
SEE: "Rooted in Time” - A Botanical Reflection on America’s Native Flora
Created by the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators, this exhibit explores the enduring presence of America’s native plants and fungi over the past 250 years. Through detailed botanical illustration, the display reveals both the visible beauty of native species and the hidden worlds that have sustained them across generations.
SHOP: Explore the Re-imagined Flower Show Marketplace
This year, the beloved Marketplace moves to a new street-level location directly below the main exhibition halls, creating an easy-to-browse destination filled with live plants, florals, garden tools, décor, jewelry, and unique gifts.
MAKE: Craft and Create with Skilled Artisans
Expanded due to popular demand, Artisan Row returns bigger than ever, inviting guests to create floral and garden-inspired keepsakes alongside 7 skilled local artisans. Make sure to check out our new artisans and crafting opportunities this year, where you can make your own tea blends with The Random Tea Room, create floral-inspired bucket hats and tote bags with Modern Misfits, and take home your very own pressed flower framed art decor with Flourish Market Philly. Purchase required.
LEARN: Potting Parties - Floral Arranging Made Fun
New this year, join a hands-on floral arrangement class and learn the fundamentals of design with seasonal botanicals. Led by Tu Bloom, Official Botanical Artist of the Grammy® Awards, you’ll create your own masterpiece to take home. Perfect for all skill levels, these popular workshops mix creativity, learning, and fun.
Purchase required.
LEARN: Know to Grow - Expert Advice Rooted in Experience
Know to Grow educational sessions invite Flower Show guests to learn directly from horticultural experts, growers, and garden leaders through engaging daily talks. Covering topics from native plants and pollinator-friendly landscapes to ecological design, orchids, vegetables, and the historical influences behind American gardening, these sessions offer practical takeaways and deeper insight for gardeners of all levels. Select sessions include talks by nationally recognized experts such as Jenny Rose Carey on mastering bulbs and Resh Gala on intensive planting techniques designed to help gardens thrive in even the smallest spaces.
Educational sessions run daily and are free with admission.
PLAY: A Full Day of Family Fun
Family Frolic offers a day of hands-on activities, playful programming, and educational moments in partnership with local Philadelphia organizations. Kids can dig in at the Kids Cocoon, a dedicated space designed to spark curiosity and creativity through interactive experiences like a large Lego table, seed planting, and story times.
Sunday, March 1 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Free with admission.
PLAY: Find Relaxation at Blossom & Breathe
Unwind at this wellness-focused evening celebrating beauty, relaxation, and natural healing. Featuring a botanical bazaar with local vendors in partnership with Honey Buz Natural Skincare and yoga led by Noel Davis of Paris Fit, it’s a restorative way to experience the Flower Show.
March 4 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. Vendor experience free with admission; yoga sessions require an additional purchase.
PLAY: Fido Friday Returns
Back by popular demand; Fido Friday invites guests to experience the Flower Show alongside their best four-legged friends. Dogs on leashes are welcome to explore the Show floor, visit dog-friendly vendors, and enjoy playful activities designed for both pets and people.
March 6, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. Proof of a valid dog license and up-to-date rabies vaccination is required. Free with admission.
PLAY: Flowers After Hours - The Folklore of the Forest
When the sun sets, the forest awakens! Flowers After Hours transforms the Flower Show into an after-dark celebration filled with myth, magic, and flowers. Dance beneath a lush floral canopy, enjoy themed cocktails, and wander through a fantastical woodland setting where fantasy-inspired attire is encouraged.
Saturday, March 7, from 8:30 to 11:30 pm. 21+ only and tickets required.
Whew! So much to do and see and experience at the Flower Show. Enjoy!
