Two PA Horticultural Society Pop Up Gardens will transform the city landscape in May and through October, with delicious new food and drink menus and inspirational programs and events that connect people with plants and each other in lush urban oases.

The PHS will bring fresh, new design elements and gardens to the beautiful gathering space at 15th and South Streets and is planning an urban orchard for its newest location at 36th and Filbert Streets in University City.

Pop Up Garden at South Street – Opens May 5

The flagship PHS Pop Up Garden near 15th and South Streets will be operated by Cantina Los Caballitos, the South-of-the-Border mecca in South Philly.

The opening fiesta, sponsored by Corona, will be May 5 – coinciding with Cinco de Mayo festivities – featuring a mariachi band, special drink discounts on Corona and Pacifico, and giveaways.

An expanded food and beverage menu will include burrito or bowl selections, corn on the cob with lime mayo and queso fresco, jicama and watermelon salad, black bean hummus, and Mexican hot dogs, as well as margaritas with botanical flavors, mint juleps, mojitos, and frozen daiquiris.

The taps will flow with great craft beers and an extensive can menu. Special events are planned weekly, including live music on Brewsday Tuesdays and a Guest Chef Series every other Thursday featuring dishes from Di Bruno Brothers, Federal Donuts, Royal Tavern and others.

The new landscape design will blend romantic-rustic elements with modern furnishings. A new garden palette of American wildflowers, purple and pink annuals and perennials, crape myrtles, illuminated zelkova trees, and the site’s towering mulberry will provide seasonal interest and great gardening ideas for patios and containers.

Grateful thanks to Kenny Gamble and Universal Companies. Sponsors of the PHS Pop Up Garden at South Street are Whole Foods Markets and Modelo Especial.

Pop Up Garden at uCity Square – Opens third week of May

PHS will turn a corner of the vast vacant lot at 36th and Filbert Streets in University City into an open-air, European-style garden for the season. The new site is located in the dynamic uCity Square community surrounded by top-tier universities, research and medical centers, growing startups and established companies, and historic neighborhoods.

Jet Wine Bar will operate the garden and offer delicious dishes created by Rex 1516 and Café Ynez The Tex Mex cuisine will include BBQ sandwiches, tacos, tortilla salad, nachos, tater tots, pimento cheese and crackers, and chips and salsa.

Special events will include Mardi Gras Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Wine Wednesdays, and Thursday Yappy Hours for canines and their companions.

The drink menu will include a selection of wines and draft beers, frozen margarita, hurricanes, and sangria. Constellation Brands will feature top labels Corona, Modelo Especial and Pacifico, beers imported from Mexico.

A variety of apple trees will create an urban orchard beneath a canopy of vines filled with flowers and edibles. The entire garden will glow with creative lighting over long communal seating and café tables for more intimate parties.

Grateful thanks to Drexel University. Sponsors of the Pop Up Garden at uCity Square include Univest Bank and Trust Co., Wexford Science + Technology, the University City Science Center, and Modelo Especial.

PHS Pop Up Programs

Both gardens will host a range of creative programs and events designed by PHS and its partners, including a Plant-a-thon in the South Street community, an herbal cocktail emporium, rain barrel workshops, succulent wreath-making, and dorm room makeovers.

Follow PHS Pop Up Gardens all season on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the PHS Blog; share with #PHSPopUpGarden.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the PA Horticultural Society website, Like PHS on Facebook, Join PHS on Instagram and Follow on Twitter.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from PHS.

(Photo: PHS Pop Up Garden at 15th & South Streets in Philadelphia last year.)

[Posted: April 21, 2017]

4/24/2017