Public Gardens

including Flower Shows

Pittsburgh Region

• Allegheny County Gardens
  Allegheny County has Penn State Demonstration Gardens in North and South Parks. They also offer gardening classes.
• Pittsburgh Botanic Garden
  Formerly the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania and the Horticultural Society of Western Pennsylvania)
  Founded in 1988 and incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization in 1992, The Horticultural Society of Western Pennsylvania’s purpose is to develop the region’s first comprehensive botanical garden. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 452 acre garden, located near Settler's Cabin County Park, 20 minutes west of Pittsburgh, was August 8, 2006. Look for their annual plant sale in May.
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Two decades in the making, Pittsburgh's 452-acre botanic garden is finally taking shape (November 14, 2010)
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Botanic garden will arise at mine drainage site
    An article from Saturday, August 05, 2006, by Susan Banks, about the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Botanic Garden.
• GTECH Strategies
  GTECH Strategies is a nonprofit that revitalizes Pittsburgh's vacant lots and brownfields through bioenergy gardens. They plants crops, generally sunflowers, which transforms unused land into community spaces, improves soil quality and produces oil for biofuels. See the PopCity article: GTECH gardens vacant lots, creates green jobs for students.
• Old Economy Village: George Rapp Garden
  The Old Economy Village was the home of the Harmomy Society, a nineteenth century Christian communal society and many old varieties of flowers and trees have been returned to the garden.
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Check out their Butterfly Garden inside and their Perennial Garden outside.
  • Project Green Heart Sustainable Plants 2008
• Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden
  Each summer Rodef Shalom opens its Biblical Botanical Garden with plants from the Holy Land. Located on Fifth Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. Open from June 1 to September 15.
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Community Gardens
  WPC has partnered with more than 80 communities in 19 counties. On their website you can locate and view photos of these gardens and the variety of plants grown. You can also volunteer to work on the gardens.

Pennsylvania

• Bartram's Garden
  America's oldest living botanical garden, a pastoral 18th century homestead surrounded by the urban bustle of Philadelphia.
• Greater Philadelphia Gardens
  This is a group of almost 30 public gardens, arboreta and historic houses with gardens in the Philadelphia area.
• Hershey Gardens
  A 23 acre botanical garden in the heart of Hershey, Pennsylvania. They offer educational programs for school groups, service organizations and clubs, day camps, and day-care centers.
• Longwood Gardens
  Kennett Square PA (near Philadelphia). Longwood offers 1,050 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows; 20 outdoor gardens; 20 indoor gardens within 4 acres of heated greenhouses; 11,000 different types of plants; 800 horticultural and performing arts events each year.
• Philadelphia Flower Show
  Each year the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (the nation's first in 1827) puts on the Philadelphia Flower Show (also the nation's first in 1829) in early spring (March). It is currently the largest indoor flower show in the world.
• Tyler Arboretum
  Tyler encompasses 650 acres of horticultural collections, rare plant specimens, ancient trees, historic buildings, and extensive hiking trails. Located west of Philadelphia.

Nearby States

• Cleveland Botanical Garden
  You can see what is currently in bloom in the garden on their website.
• Holden Arboretum
  Located in Kirtland, Ohio, near Cleveland.

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United States: Directories

• American Public Gardens Association (APGA)
  Formerly the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, the American Public Gardens Association is the association for North American public gardens and their professional staff. You can search their member gardens by country, state or city.

Selected Gardens

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden
  Consisting of 52 acres, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is one of the foremost gardens in the US. Their website also offers gardening information and they publish many very interesting gardening handbooks.
• Chicago Botanic Gardens
  The Chicago Botanic Garden consists of 385 acres on 9 islands. Their website also includes plant information for the home gardener including a database of the best plants for Illinois, most of which will also grow in Pennsylvania.
• Denver Botanic Gardens
  Their website offers links to plant societies and other botanical gardens and websites.
• Missouri Botanical Garden
  MOBOT was one of the first Botanical Gardens online and is one of the foremost botanical gardens in the US
  • Gardening Help
    Check here for plant information.
• National Arboretum
  The Arboretum's beautiful 444-acre campus in Washington, D.C. contains an array of display gardens, collections, and historical monuments set among native stands of eastern deciduous trees. Their crepe myrtles are particularly stunning.
• New York Botanical Garden
  Located in the Bronx
• United States Botanic Garden
  Located in downtown Washington D.C., the Conservatory features a wide variety of living exhibits, including seasonal exhibits. It is free to the public.

International

• Australian National Botanic Garden
  Their website includes lots of information about native Australian plants, like acacias and eucalyptus, Kangaroo Paws and Bottlebrushes.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
  National Botanic Gardens of Scotland
  Founded in the 17th century as a ‘Physic Garden’, growing medicinal plants, the Garden is first and foremost a scientific institution, dedicated to discovering and describing plants and their relationships, evolution, conservation and biology. The four Gardens are also major tourist attractions within Scotland.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  On 3 July 2003 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew was officially inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
• Royal Botanic Gardens of Canada
  Located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada