{"id":168256,"date":"2026-04-17T05:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/168256\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T05:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:03:12","slug":"celebrating-americas-first-botanical-garden-right-here-in-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/168256\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating America\u2019s first botanical garden \u2013 right here in Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Forget celebrating measly 250 years. America\u2019s first botanical garden is celebrating nearly 300 years of inspiring national interest in nature and flora long before the nation was officially founded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And now, Bartram\u2019s Garden <\/a>\u00a0will be honored at this weekend\u2019s Philly \u201cFirstival\u201d<\/a> as the first botanical garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quaker John Bartram purchased<\/a> the farmland along the lower Schuylkill River in 1728.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From there, he turned it into America\u2019s first garden.<\/p>\n

The garden\u2019s collection was diverse, said Bratram\u2019s executive director Maitreyi Roy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bartrams played a role in collecting plants from as far up as Nova Scotia and as far down as Florida to really bring a collection together at their home base, which is the garden today,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roy explained there wasn\u2019t a lot of knowledge about plant species in America in the early days. She said having a garden like this with diverse offerings helped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBartram\u2019s has played a role in really advancing and shaping the understanding of the natural history of this country at a time when there was a lot of curiosity about what this new nation was looking like,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bartrams House in the 1900s (Billy Penn file photo) Credit: Courtesy Bartram’s Garden<\/p>\n

And, the botanical garden didn\u2019t just propagate plants for Philadelphians to enjoy. Bratram would send these plants far and wide, garnering international attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bartrams started this trade practice at a time when sending anything overseas involved six months in the hull of a ship, so it was a pretty extraordinary sort of early establishment of trade that I think really inspired people in this region to have a strong focus on plants and horticulture,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A statue commemorating this Philly \u201cfirst\u201d was created by local artist Tommy McShane. He said the garden is a unique example of the intersection between science and art.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking of Bartram\u2019s Garden as this site of humans, plants, animals, all interacting with each other for thousands of years, and how it\u2019s still a place that we can do that in the city, which is kind of rare especially in Southwest Philly,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Tommy McShane (left) and Bartram\u2019s Garden Executive Director Maitreyi Roy (right) next to the botanical garden firstival statue rendition (Violet Comber-Wilen\/Billy Penn) <\/p>\n

Present-day park<\/p>\n

Bartram\u2019s Garden is now a community space for many outdoor activities \u2013 including boating, walking, biking, fishing and exploring the botanical gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Cyclists in Bartram\u2019s Garden. (File photo\/Billy Penn) Credit: Courtesy Bartram’s Garden<\/p>\n

The garden also has the Bartram\u2019s Mile Trail \u2013 a portion of the Schuylkill River Trail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The garden is hosting its annual spring celebration<\/a> this Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really excited because it\u2019s part of our spring launch of the season,\u201d she said. \u201cThere will be tons of plants, there will be tons of activities and there will be tons of music. So, it\u2019s a chance to come out and enjoy the spring weather, and also get to know the history of the garden, which is typically not something we\u2019ve had the chance to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s firstival will be included within the Spring Fest \u2013 and will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roy said that the garden will continue to evolve and grow with the times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also evolved in our current day view of what the garden should be thinking of and be responsible for in the community,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First postmaster, American-made piano and sousaphone and Mother\u2019s Day coming up\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here is your full guide to all of this year\u2019s firstivals \u2013 including where you can find this upcoming Saturday\u2019s Firstival dates and location.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Completed<\/p>\n

Week 1: \u00a0Successful balloon flight in America (1793)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation\u2019s first folk parade (1901)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)<\/a><\/p>\n

Week 7: Abolitionist society in America<\/a> (1775)<\/p>\n

Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America<\/a> (1984)<\/p>\n

Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America<\/a> (1688)<\/p>\n

Week 10: Flower Show<\/a> (1829)<\/p>\n

Week 11: Women\u2019s medical college<\/a> (1850)<\/p>\n

Week 12: Matchbook<\/a> (1892)<\/p>\n

Week 13: Medical school <\/a>(1765)<\/p>\n

Week 14: Stadium <\/a>(1895)<\/p>\n

Week 15: Circus performance <\/a>(1793)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upcoming<\/p>\n

\u2022 Botanical garden (1728)
April 18, Bartram\u2019s Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Postmaster (1737)
April 25, Franklin Court, 322 Market St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
May 2, Ensemble Arts Philly, 300 S. Broad St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mother\u2019s Day (1908)
May 9, Historic St. George\u2019s Museum & Archives, 326 New St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Hospital in America (1751)
May 16, Pennsylvania Hospital, 800 Spruce St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 World\u2019s Fair on American soil (1876)
May 23, Please Touch Museum, 4231 Avenue of the Republic<\/p>\n

\u2022 Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
May 30, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 American flag (1777)
June 6, Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Army (1775)
June 13, Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
June 20, Philly Pride Visitor Center, Lombard St. and S. 12th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Paper maker in America (1690)
June 27, Rittenhouse Town, 6034 Wissahickon Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Bank of the United States (1791)
July 4, First Bank of the United States, 120 S. 3rd St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Organized baseball team (1831)
July 11 (location TBD)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
July 18, Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 American art school (1805)
July 25, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Aug. 1, at Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters\u2019 Hall, 320 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway<\/p>\n

\u2022 University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Children\u2019s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today. Forget celebrating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4000,564,44066,5091,1958,69,71,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-168256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america-250","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-firstival","11":"tag-nature","12":"tag-parks","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","15":"tag-philadelphia-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}