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Labor Day marked the unofficial end of the summer respite and its associated pleasures. Come Saturday; however, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society will prove that autumn’s offerings are no less splendid. The organization will prune away any fears that fun ends when the summer withers with its Fall Garden Festival at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Marine Parade Ground, Broad Street and Constitution Avenue.
Beginning at 11 a.m., the festival guarantees four hours of family fun and horticultural enlightenment. The free event will celebrate all aspects of green living, offering all gardeners and homeowners ideas on how to improve the aesthetics of their projects, be they internal or external endeavors.
“This was for a long time a ‘Members Day Only’ event,” Laura Hoover, the society’s senior public relations coordinator, said of the event from which only the society’s 17,000 members could once receive expert tips ways to become more decorative. “Historically the festival has been at the Navy Yard for several years. We expanded to make this bigger and better this year with lots of green connections, a green caterer and lots of fun educational activities.”
Lest anyone believe the day will focus only on adults, the society will bombard children’s senses with high-speed veggie races, pumpkin painting, a butterfly garden, bubble play and a kids’ challenge featuring hula hoops, stepping stones, jump rope and more. Stephen Clarke, the world’s fastest pumpkin carver, will show the skills that have earned recognition from The Guinness Book of World Records.
Subaru, a sponsor of the society’s yearly Philadelphia International Flower Show, will also hold a dog adoption day with the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for any family looking to pair a pet purchase with a plant selection.
Educational exhibitors will give instruction on butterfly gardening, worms and composting. With a semi-French theme, the day will also include a mime and a preview of the 2011 Flower Show, “Springtime in Paris.”
No event calling itself a “Seasonal Feast for the Senses” could make such a claim without food and music. Fresh, local produce and prepared foods will be for sale. Prose from Dover, a husband/wife duo will offer what it calls “acoustic eclectic” music from its 180-song repertoire, which includes original material and takes on Cole Porter and Sheryl Crow.
Visiting the society’s Green Stop will allow people to pick up green living advice and recycle used nursery containers and horticultural plastics. Demonstrations and lectures on autumn tree care, herbs and houseplants also promise to up anyone’s green IQ.
A special ceremony in the adjacent Urban Outfitters building will honor 140 winners, including many South Philadelphia residents, of the society’s 36th annual City Gardens Contest. The contest recognizes amateur gardeners in the Philadelphia region for their creativity, dedication and maintenance of gardening projects. Victors from all 35 categories, including Community Flower Garden, Greenest Block, Individual Flower Garden and Urban Farm, will receive recognition from new society President Drew Becher.
The society’s greening programs will bloom courtesy of a live auction that Becher will orchestrate. He will take bids for indoor/outdoor decor from the Flower Show, an eco blower, a mulcher, mantis tillers, composting services, pet supplies, planters and more.
Now open to everyone, the festival is looking to add members to the society, which began in 1827. Its mission statement claims “PHS motivates people to improve the quality of life and create a sense of community through horticulture.”
“We have a host of perks for those who become PHS members Saturday,” Hoover said.
Those benefits include a $5 discount off the price of membership; a choice of up to three free plants; a 10 percent discount on plants at Meadowbrook Farm Store, Gold Medal Plants and the Flower Show Shoppe; and, depending on membership level, free Flower Show tickets and daffodil bulbs to the first 300 people who join or renew. Other benefits will appear throughout the year, according to Hoover.
“The event will highlight several PHS partners and give everyone a chance to celebrate autumn’s arrival and the fun of gardening,” Hoover said.
For more information, visit www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org.
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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