The Philadelphia area is often called the garden capital of America, with some 36 public gardens, arboreta, and historic landscapes. Horticultural activity began in the Delaware Valley in the 18th century with John Bartram and continues to this day with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and numerous garden clubs and Master Gardeners tending numerous public and private gardens. Shipley fits right in, with the Blooms Crew, Sprouts, and above all, Secret Gardens, which in 2024 celebrated its 50th year showcasing the richness of Philadelphia’s horticultural tradition.

Established in 1975 as a fundraiser, Secret Gardens’ first activity was a tour of local greenhouses to brighten the winter doldrums. It quickly morphed into a full-blown garden tour on the second Wednesday in May. The committee begins early in the year to arrange a tour of seven or eight mostly private gardens in a relatively compact geographic area, usually the Main Line but occasionally in Chester County. 

Each year features a different collection of gardens, ranging in size from multi-acre estates to postage stamp-size. Some are professionally designed and maintained, others are the handiwork of the homeowner, many of whom are Master Gardeners. Some have been recognized by the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens. Most are not usually open to the public; the Secret Gardens tour is a rare opportunity to see them.

Over the years, the tours have been well advertised in the community at large with enticing descriptions of “gardens for every taste and interest… unusual and varied plant material…structures, fountains, and garden sculpture.” There have been gardens in French style and English style, formal beds, large landscapes, woodlands, and rock gardens. Since 1983, the invitation has featured a drawing of one of the gardens assigned as part of Shipley’s art curriculum.

The committee members know their stuff and take great care in writing the garden descriptions, complete with proper Latin, for the map distributed to those who sign up for the tour and pay the registration fee. “Kwanzan cherries (Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’) and Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) beckon you to this magnificent farmhouse… [landscaped] by a disciple of Gertrude Jekyll,” reads one entry. Secret Gardens tours are for serious gardeners as well as amateurs at all levels.

For many years the lunch, provided at one of the larger sites or a public park, was made by the committee members themselves: chicken salad and a delectable chocolate cake. Recently, it has been catered, often at Appleford in Villanova. Sprouts contribute plants and garden wares sold at the luncheon site.

From the beginning, Secret Gardens has been popular, becoming a much-loved rite of spring, with as many as 800 tickets sold and $40,000 made in a single year to support Shipley. Overall, says garden enthusiast Susan Potts Bloom ’65 with typical understatement, “Secret Gardens is a very, very nice enterprise.”