MORE Time

Imagine the luxury of a work week that is only ever two days long, giving you a five full days off every week to relax and do anything you’d like. What would you do if you had that kind of time on your hands? More time… a very nice dilemma to have.

Well, unfortunately we can’t give you a two-day work week (that might not go over very well with your employers), but we can give you five full days at this year’s annual APGA conference to spend any way you like! More time… and you know what that means—more of everything!... a very nice dilemma to have, indeed!

• More time to stop and smell the roses—at the Longwood Rose Garden, of course!
• More time to take pleasure in the pleasure gardens amidst the world-renowned and enchanting woodlands and pastures of Chanticleer!;
• More time, perhaps, to go out on a limb to do something different (Look up! No, it’s not Superman! It’s the Morris Arboretum’s Tree Adventure exhibit, and you’re about to find out what “interactive” really means!);
• More time to meet and spend with More colleagues;
• More time to discover all of the great garden initiatives taking place across the country and farther afield;
• More time to discuss and debate the pressing issues of our time like childhood obesity and the role gardens can play in helping to reverse such dangerous trends;
• More time to find out how social media—including YouTube—can revolutionize your interaction with volunteers, members, and the public in general.

Please join us this year at More: The APGA Revolutionary Conference in Philadelphia. With the newly organized conference schedule spanning a whole five days, there is much More time to fit much More in. So take your time, and choose those sessions that you know will give you the optimal APGA conference experience. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday… what will you do? A nice dilemma to have, indeed!

MORE History

Reading Terminal Market (Photo credit: Larry Laszlo)

 Sitting here with coffee at the Reading Terminal - a hub for gathering, produce shopping and eating since 1892 (I’ve been coming since 1955!) – one can’t help but sense the history of this city.


The original plan for this “Greene Countrie Towne”, as William Penn described it, provided an interior row between two rows of houses for gardens but also for public squares in each section of Philadelphia. The squares remain – Washington, Rittenhouse, Franklin and Logan Circle, Yep, the last one is a circle, but it is inside a square if you look! The Swann Fountain (designed by Alexander Stirling Calder)in its center celebrates three waterways, the Delaware, the Schuylkill and well, we have our secrets, you’ll have to ask about the third!

APGA members Amy Hoffmann, Keri Leymaster, James Gagliardi, and Tee Jay Boudreau at the Swann Fountain (Photo credit: Grace Chapman)

Known as the birthplace of Democracy, Philly was also the birthplace of American Botany. When this town on the Delaware River (a general crossed it one night with some significant results) was settled a few hundred years ago it was a new landscape. There were no books or concerning native plants, so, people like John Bartram made observations, drawings and kept records beginning our Green history. And let’s not forget Horticulture! The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was formed in 1827 and 2 years later presented the first Philadelphia Flower Show. Now, along with being international in scope, it is the largest and the oldest continuous indoor flower show in the world! Among other plants it showcased Poinsettia, Chrysanthemums, and coffee (yes, the drink in this cup).

We are home to Fairmount Park, the largest park in the United States that is within city limits. And we have treasures. How about original collections from the Lewis & Clark expedition at the Academy of Natural Science? Or Impressionist art collections that rival Paris? These within walking distance of the Symposium!

Shofusu, the Japanese House in Fairmount Park (Photo credit: Grace Chapman)

The Symposium will be held at the Loews Hotel. Once known as the PSFS building (look up at the sign, it’s still there), completed in 1932 and the first skyscraper in America built in the “International Style” – think Bauhaus inspired… At the Loews you are within walking distance of the most historical blocks in America. Take a right at the front entrance, head to the Bourse and then work your way through Society Hill (named because of the “Societies” of craft workers that existed there.) Check out Carpenters Hall, Independence Hall (documents of some importance were debated and signed there a while back), The American Philosophical Society Museum, Second Bank of the United States, the home where Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, and there’s More!. Another day turn left and there’s the Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Some of these institutions are within a Frisbee throw of each other (ok, you need a decent arm, but it can be done!).  Look up as you walk, there is City Hall, one of the largest masonry buildings in the world…and, hey, there’s More!

Benjamin Franklin Parkway leading to the Philadelphia Art Museum (Photo credit: Grace Chapman)