Pennsylvania Horticultural Society - Philadelphia Flower Show

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in 1827 by a group of gentleman farmers, botanists and nurserymen. Monthly meetings included exhibitions among members. PHS held the first public flower show in America in June 1829 in the Masonic Hall on Philadelphia’s Chestnut Street. It was a one-day exhibition of fruits, flowers, and plants, and included the introduction of the Poinsettia, recently imported from Mexico, to the American public.

Horace Binney, first president of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Engraving by John Sartain, after a portrait by Thomas Sully. Sully portrait created in 1833. Engraving date unknown.

Interior view of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's first Horticultural Hall. Exhibitions were held in this building from 1867 until it was destroyed by fire in 1881. Building location described as Broad and Lardner Streets or Broad Street below Locust.

PHS held annual public exhibitions in venues throughout the city. The society built its first Horticultural Hall in 1867 on Broad Street, Philadelphia. The most remarkable display in the first grand exhibition featured pears, grapes, plums, quinces, and pomegranates shipped from California, the first offerings from that state in a PHS show. The hall was destroyed by fire in 1881.

Henry Augustus Dreer started a seed business in 1838, offering bulbs, flower seeds, and vegetable seeds to an eager public. He served as treasurer of PHS from 1862 to 1873. His son William continued the business and was known for the premiums offered to competitors in flower shows of the 1900s. The H. A. Dreer Company exhibited at Philadelphia shows through the 1930s.

It was not uncommon for the floral competitions of the 1880s to include funeral designs. This illustration from J. Horace McFarland's 1888 book, Floral Designs: a Handbook for Cut-Flower Workers and Florists, featured a funeral design by longtime exhibitor Hugh Graham & Sons. This scroll with cross and crown is made of polished ivy leaves, with Perle roses outlining the edge.

Chrysanthemum shows were immensely popular from the last quarter of the 19th century through the 1920s, with multi-day shows held in the fall in major cities in the United States and Canada. The public was fascinated with the "wonderfully bizarre" Japanese forms introduced at this time. Exhibitors would graft different kinds and colors of chrysanthemums to one plant. Bigger flowers attracted attention; with the right coaxing, chrysanthemums could have dinner-plate-sized flowers.

Horticultural Hall had many uses. It was the meeting place for PHS members, housed its library, and was the venue for shows. It was also used as a rental facility. Shown here is a banquet held in the late 1880s for the Master Builder's Exchange, seating 750. This second Horticultural Hall was also home to the Florists Club of Philadelphia, which had a bowling alley where matches among florists were routinely held.

PHS's third Horticultural Hall opened in 1896. Designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Miles Day, this hall was patterned after a Florentine Renaissance palace. Its interior was ornate, with a large foyer, stained glass windows, and a grand staircase to the main hall brilliantly lit by electric light. An inability to make a profit on shows or hall rentals forced PHS to sell this building in 1917. It was demolished that year.

Schedule of Prizes offered by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society at its Spring Exhibition to be Held in Horticultural Hall Broad Str., Below Locust, Philadelphia March 28th, 29th and 30th, 1905.

Wealthy estate owners, called "private growers," and commercial growers such as florists and seed and nursery businesses offered prize money, called a "premium," to winners. Private growers competed with other private growers; commercial growers did likewise. Premiums would be for a specific class, such as "cut flowers, chrysanthemums, or, group of foliage and flowering plants, arranged for effect." At the 1908 exhibition, prize money amounted to $1,152, roughly $30,000 today.

The National Flower Show was held in Philadelphia from March 25 through April 2, 1916, at Convention Hall, Broad and Allegheny Avenues. This was a large show organized by the Society of American Florists in cooperation with PHS, the Florists Club of Philadelphia, and several trade, professional, and educational groups. Its success convinced local organizers that the public was interested in large spring flower shows. Many participants in this show reunited in the mid 1920s to organize the spring event, the Philadelphia Flower Show.