Special Projects & Work Days
The Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America is committed to the upkeep of three gardens:
The Concourse Lake Native Plant Park
The Magnolia Tribute Garden on Locust between 4th and 5th Streets
The Physic Garden located at Pennsylvania Hospital
Click on any of the Gardens below for more information and Work Day information
Masked volunteers met at Concourse Lake on October 22 to work on the beds planting shrubs, perennials and seeds, raking, mulching and removing invasives during the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic.
Magnolia Tribute Garden
The Magnolia Tribute Garden, on the south side of Locust Street between 4th and 5th Streets, was donated by the Garden Club of America in honor of the founders of our nation and dedicated in May 1959. George Washington's expressed interest in magnolia trees inspired this garden. Around its walled perimeter are 13 early spring blooming hybrid magnolias suitable for northern climates. They represent the 13 original colonies. Enclosed by wrought iron fences and gates, the plantings include Saucer Magnolias, Narcissus Snow Azaleas, Honey Locusts, Cottonasters.
The Physic Garden as pictured below, is the jewel in the crown that makes up the Pennsylvania Hospital gardens. The Board of Managers first proposed the Physic Garden in 1774 to provide physicians with ingredients for medicines. The idea was approved, but financial circumstances intervened and the project was delayed for two centuries. In 1976, the planting of the garden was the bicentennial project of the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America and the Friends of Pennsylvania Hospital. The garden contains the plants and herbs that were used for medicines in the 18th century