When did the Horticourt first appear at the Philadelphia Flower Show?
Answer
In 1956, a new dimension was added to the Philadelphia Flower Show. For the first time, home gardeners were invited to enter plants and compete in horticultural classes, staged in an area known as the “Horticourt.” Prior to the 1950s, amateur entries consisted of “artistic classes” (mostly flower arrangements) and “garden classes,” in which clubs installed gardens and competed with each other. From a small but promising showing of 25 entries in 8 classes in 1956, today’s Hamilton Horticourt has 2,000 entries on each of the three judging days.