Greater Philadelphia Gardens - Part of Philadelphia and its Countryside

Gardens, Gardens Everywhere
Nowhere in the United States are there more beautiful gardens clustered together than in Philadelphia, the surrounding Pennsylvania countryside and neighboring Delaware and South Jersey. The region is rich with arboreta, public gardens and historic houses -- from the handsome farmlands in Bucks and Chester counties to the lavish estates of Montgomery County to the glorious banks of the Brandywine River to the historic homesteads of Philadelphia.

Over the past 300 years plant enthusiasts enhanced the local landscape with lovely, individualistic gardens. Quaker families in Philadelphia, the du Ponts in the Brandywine region and other botanists created green spaces that are now part of the area's heritage. Garden visionaries and professional designers also fashioned gardens that have since evolved into modern research and teaching facilities.

Today the gardens are testimonies to the foresight of their founders; living tributes to the families who lived in them. Some bear witness to the relationship between art and nature while others serve as backdrops to educational institutions. And there are those whose primary mission is to be a public garden or to showcase plants in their native setting.

Nature Takes Much Credit
The rich soil, plentiful rainfall and radiant sunshine are often cited as reasons for the region's horticultural wealth. Southern plants thrive because of the warm springs and summers while northern plants receive the sufficient cold needed to succeed.

Each of the thirty-two gardens, arboreta, historic houses and campuses in Greater Philadelphia Gardens is unique and enchanting in its own way. Each welcomes visitors with a variety tours, workshops, lectures, plant sales, festivals and other special events.

Would you like to view a map of the gardens? Click here.