For Matt Rader WG11, leading the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society over the past decade has involved balancing evolution with storied legacy. That same idea carries through this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show, which opens February 28 as one of the first major public events in the city tied to the United States’ 250th anniversary. Produced by PHS, the show turns attention to the histories and influences that have defined American gardening — and how those practices are carried forward — through its theme, “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening.”
The timing is significant for PHS as well as the organization approaches a milestone of its own next year: 200 years since its founding in 1827. Ahead of opening day, Wharton Magazine sat down with Rader to discuss the Flower Show, the organization’s impact over two centuries, and his reflections on a decade at the helm of one of Philadelphia’s most beloved institutions.
Wharton Magazine: How did this milestone year for the U.S. influence the Flower Show’s theme?
Matt Rader: In a year where we’re all celebrating our nation’s history, we wanted the show to be a way for people to reflect on the traditions and stories they’ve inherited and how they express those today through gardening or engagement with plants and flowers. What’s been really fun about this theme is that people are already telling us their stories. As soon as they hear “origins of American gardening,” they talk about a grandparent who taught them how to grow vegetables or a plant they took a clipping from at someone’s funeral and have nurtured ever since.
We’re hoping more of that happens at the show. All the exhibitors will be sharing their own stories of American gardening and the people and ideas that shaped them. We also created something new this year called the American Landscape Showcase, where designers from around the country interpret the past and future of the American garden in vignette form. We hope it gets people talking about what an American garden really is. There are many versions, and ultimately a garden reflects the culture, traditions, and lived experience of the person who’s gardening.
WM: In light of PHS’s own upcoming anniversary, how would you describe the organization’s impact on the greater Philadelphia region since its founding?
MR: PHS started as a group interested in elevating the quality of horticulture in Pennsylvania and ensuring it was being used to maximum economic benefit. Through generations of incredible leadership, it has become an engine that makes life better in every neighborhood in the city and suburbs of Philadelphia and a shared tradition that unites people from many walks of life. Through PHS, people have physically transformed their neighborhoods — planting trees, reclaiming vacant land, creating beautiful public spaces — and at the same time built a social fabric that connects us all. As we enter our third century, the question is: What are we going to do next? No great entrepreneurial organization rests on its laurels.
WM: How do you honor PHS’s legacy while still pushing the organization to evolve?
MR: There’s a quote in a PHS yearbook from 1945 that I reflect on often. It says that membership in PHS implies a forward-looking role for horticulture on the self, family, and community, making life happier and richer. That’s the essence of PHS. What we do — and always have done — is help people find ways to express their creativity, fall in love with the natural world, and use the act of growing plants with other people to make the world better.
That same idea propels us forward. We just do it in new ways: helping people transform their neighborhoods, improving public spaces, inspiring home gardeners to grow food or create healthy habitats for animals. The germ of the idea hasn’t changed.
WM: What lessons from Wharton have been most valuable in leading PHS?
MR: Understanding how to organize people around a shared purpose and connect their day-to-day work to that bigger vision. Strategy and finance matter, but alignment around a common goal is the secret sauce — especially for an organization that’s as dynamic as PHS.
The other lesson, which I often credit to [Wharton Practice Professor of Real Estate] Asuka Nakahara, is the ability to distill complexity down to a simple version of what you’re about and what you need — and then be prepared to answer any question.
We used to be defined by our various initiatives, such as the Flower Show and our neighborhood work. Reframing our purpose as using horticulture to advance health and well-being has helped us innovate and connect with supporters in new ways.
WM: This year also marks 10 years since you became president of PHS. What accomplishments stand out most?
MR: I’m very proud of scaling our neighborhood work. We’ve more than doubled our Healthy Neighborhoods program, which uses gardening and greening tools to improve quality of life, health, and well-being. We know from data that these efforts significantly reduce violent crime, change how people feel about the places where they live, and connect neighbors to one another.
We’ve also really invigorated the Flower Show. We’ve done a lot of work to attract new exhibitors, elevate the quality of horticulture, and expand its reach. Opening the 2021 Flower Show outdoors was memorable. We planned it in about a year, amid COVID lockdowns. It was an incredible creative journey for staff, volunteers, and partners and a powerful example of horticulture supporting mental health during a difficult time.
The third thing I’d point to is how much we’ve grown the PHS community itself — supporters, gardeners, members. We’ve radically increased our education and engagement activities, grown our membership, and gotten more people involved.
WM: What’s one aspect of PHS’s work that people may not be aware of?
MR: One of the most unseen parts is our role in public spaces. Iconic places like Logan Circle, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and the grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art are cared for and, in most cases, funded by PHS. We also plant and care for about 2,500 street trees each year in the city and region. People don’t always realize we’re part of that puzzle, but without PHS, the city and suburbs would be more barren, less beautiful places.
