Hi GPODers!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining the rest of the Fine Gardening crew on their expedition to the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show. In its 196th year, the flower show is a feast for plant lovers of every kind. Whether you’re there to see the spectacular floral displays or marvel in the many prized plant specimens on display, hours fly by like they are minutes in the busy showroom.

Produced by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), the show is a fundraiser to support the society’s mission to use horticulture to improve the health and well-being of the Greater Philadelphia region. Also one of the largest and oldest flower shows in the world, it attracts over 200,000 guests annually and gathers plant professionals from across the Mid-Atlantic region (and world) to exchange ideas, information, and knowledge. Fine Gardening was there to hold talks as part of the show’s “Know to Grow” educational lecture series. However, that didn’t stop me from slipping out into the showroom whenever I had free time to capture as much of the unbelievable creations and exhibits as I could.

The 2025 theme, “Gardens of Tomorrow,” invited onlookers to imagine how our gardens and plant arrangements will evolve in the near future, and the entry displays (titled Futura Florentia) immediately immersed you into this experimental world.

Garden entryways have been marked by some kind of archway for centuries, so it’s reasonable that future gardens will continue this tradition. This entry display imagined what a more futuristic interpretation of these classic structures might look like and put it on a grand scale. The mix of materials and lighting colors used throughout these beds also lent to the futuristic feel.

While the structures used were sleek and ultramodern, all of the plantings were lush, comforting, and familiar. A mix of pink and purple flowers matched the huge, bright pink water features while a mix of foliage shapes created a naturalistic effect with tons of incredible texture.

Varying plant heights also gave this border lots of dimension. Spires of classic foxgloves and the bulbous blooms of alliums contrast each other while complimenting many of the unique shapes found in the elaborate water features made up of tons of glass ornaments.

The only thing missing from these gorgeous odes to spring were the blooms on the many cherry trees that were focal points of the design. Just like in our gardens, plants don’t care when you’ve scheduled a fancy garden show and will come into their peak at their own time. Just a week or two away from full color, the trees were covered in buds and the first unfurling flowers. While not the floral display they were intending, it’s reassuring for the home gardener that not even the professionals get it right 100% of the time.

In no way lacking for blooms were the opulent arrangements that were encountered as soon as you passed through the entryway’s arching lights. Layers and layers of hot-colored flowers created bold mounds that thrilled and spilled out containers that I believe were 3D printed (very fitting for “Gardens of Tomorrow”).

Various orchids, tulips, roses, and allium are just some of the big blooms used to create these incredible combinations, which were so large that huge monstera leaves were an appropriate foliage match. I tried my best to get photos that captured as much of the incredible details in this arrangements as possible, but that is no easy task when hundreds of other people are also vying for a great view of these plants.

All of these bright colors again married well with the bright pink water features. The third of these structures traded the glass baubles found in the first two for cylinders that held gorgeous orchid flowers.

Just another angle of these incredible containers and the lovely mix of tulips and grasses that surrounded them. I don’t think any picture could completely capture the size and magnitude of these over-the-top displays, but know if you find these impressive they were that much more impressive in real life.

Keep an eye out for more posts from the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show in the coming weeks! The show is vast and full of delicious details so I won’t be able to cover everything there was to see, but I will dive into some of my favorite displays and most unusual finds. If you had a chance to visit the show this year, let us know in the comments what your favorite part was, or consider sharing your favorite photos with the blog! Follow the directions below to submit your photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

 

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