Pennsylvania Horticultural Society - Philadelphia Flower Show

The woman in the flowered evening dress is Noel Clark, wife of Pennsylvania Senator Joseph Clark. She has just cut the ribbon that opened the 1966 show held in the basement of the Civic Center. At a charge of $25 per person, this first Preview Dinner drew 600 guests. This gala preview to the flower show continues today to be a much anticipated annual social event. It is a fund raiser in support of PHS's community greening programs.

1966 Flower Show poster, Spring Flower Show, March 12-17, Philadelphia Civic Center.

The 1967 winner of the flower show poster contest was James Stevenson, a student at the Tyler School of Art. His winning poster features long stem red roses.

In this "Timeless Treasures" entry of 1967, Mrs. Arthur Judson of Chestnut Hill used an early 19th Century hard-paste porcelain vase on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The enamel and gilt decorated vase, made in Paris by La Courtille porcelain factory circa 1815, was nearly 9 inches in height by 5 and one half inches wide. Judges' comments described the entry as the "epitome of French arrangement."

From the late 1940s and through the 1970s, Gimbels Department Store and, later, the Philadelphia Bulletin, sponsored a Flower Show poster contest open to area art students. Talented winners saw their poster printed as that year's official show poster. This poster was the winner for the 1968 show.

In 1969 PHS president George Clark, left, congratulated Lee M. Raden for what may have been the first award Lee won over a 40-year involvement with the Philadelphia Flower Show. Lee Morris Raden was a legendary exhibitor who won numerous awards in the competitive classes, particularly for his alpine plant entries. He played many roles at the show, serving as a judge, a chair of horticulture and as a liaison between show management and exhibitors; his efforts helped to grow the show both in size and quality by encouraging many gardeners to participate, to learn, and to up their horticultural game. Friendly, gregarious, with an outsized personality, Lee Raden inspired young and old, beginners or old hands to garden and exhibit; in 1998, Lee won PHS's Distinguished Achievement Award for his life-time role as a "horticultural pied piper for his enthusiasm, dedication and good humor."

Teleflora flower arranging demonstration is set to begin at the 1969 Flower Show.

Anne Coste puts final touches on her entry for the 1970 Flower Show

Joy Mackinney, 1970 Philadelphia Flower Show horticultural sweepstakes winner, kisses the trophy at the awards luncheon. Stamped on verso: Edmind B. Gilchrist, Jr., Photography, 8223 Seminole Ave., Philadelphia 18, PA. Penciled on verso: Judging article by Timms, 1973 F.S. program, p. 8.

1970 Flower Show close up shot of Aristide Maillol's Ile-de-France. Edmund Gilchrist, Jr., photographer.