For the first time in its 200-year history, the Philadelphia Flower Show will take place outside – and CT Hort will be there! The backdrop for this year’s show will be the beautiful, lush landscape of FDR Park in Philadelphia. Overnight accommodations have been made at the Marriott Downtown, in the heart of Philadelphia, just steps from Reading Market.
Saturday includes lunch and a guided tour of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. The arboretum is a new kind of ornamental garden inspired by John and Lydia Morris’ extensive travels through Europe and Asia and includes native and exotic flora and art from around the world. CT Hort’s friend and past speaker Bill Cullina (formerly of Coastal Maine Botanical Garden) will greet us as he was appointed Executive Director of the Arboretum in 2019. Once we reach Philadelphia and settle in to our hotel, the welcome dinner will be held at Maggiano’s Little Italy, conveniently located right next door to the hotel.
Sunday will be spent at the show. This year’s theme, ’HABITAT: Nature’s Masterpiece’ will explore the beauty of life through nature’s kaleidoscopic lens. Visitors should be ready to see exceptional beauty, learn from a diverse line-up of designers and leading horticulturalists and enter a new gardener-centric experience that invites everyone at all skill levels to nurture a lifelong connection to plants and gardening.
After the show, you’ll enjoy a private after-hours tour and wine & cheese reception with the Barnes Foundation. The Foundation houses one of the finest collections of 19th and 20th century French paintings in the world. The museum’s permanent collection features 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, and 59 Matisses, along with works by Van Gogh, Manet, Degas, Seurat, Prendergrast, Picasso and more, set among ground breaking African sculpture and Native American ceramics, jewelry, and textiles. Following the reception, we’ll have dinner together at one of Philadelphia’s great restaurants.
On Monday, it’s back to the Philadelphia Flower Show to catch what you may have missed and to do some shopping. Lunch will be on your own before we head home.
A deposit of $100 per person will hold your spot with final payment due April 16, 2021.
Cost:Â $819 per person, double occupancy / $999 per person single
Non-members must add $50