This year’s Philadelphia Flower Show theme draws on gardening history

To celebrate the country’s Semiquincentennial next summer, Philadelphia’s 2026 Flower Show will focus on the history of plants and gardening culture in the United States.

The show’s theme, announced this week, will be “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening.” It is the third in a trilogy of themes over the past three years that reflected on gardening over time — the 2024 show, “United by Flowers,” reveled in present-day gardening communities, while the 2025 show, “Gardens of Tomorrow,” envisioned future generations of gardens.

The 2026 show will mine the past, drawing on nostalgia and “heritage traditions that shape how we plant, grow, and gather,” the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which hosts the show annually at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, said in a news release. The Horticultural Society will mark its 200th anniversary in 2027.

The beloved show draws thousands of people to Center City each year.

“This year’s Flower Show feels especially personal because every plant or garden carries a story behind it,” said Seth Pearsoll, vice president and creative director of the show, in a statement. “It will be a show filled with memory, meaning, and incredible creativity.”

The show will run from Feb. 28 to March 8 and will feature a special exhibit about America’s influence on gardening; a giant houseplant and indoor plant competition; and an immersive entrance garden playing on historical influences, PHS said.

There are also always gardening and craft workshops, kids’ activities, and many flower-related vendors selling their wares in an enormous marketplace.

The show is the society’s biggest fundraiser, supporting its greening efforts across the city.

Tickets are on sale at tickets.phsonline.org. For more information about the 2026 flower show, visit phsonline.org/the-flower-show.