🌷The Philadelphia Flower Show is coming home | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to the start of a new month.

Expect to start your morning with patchy fog. Temps will reach the low 50s.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for winter to end. In fairness, the past few months have been fairly mild, but I’m looking forward to fewer gray skies.

Spring is close and the return of the Philadelphia Flower Show returning this weekend is a wonderful reminder of that.

Our lead story follows the show’s highly-anticipated return to the Pennsylvania Convention Center after two years outside during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

The Philadelphia Flower Show will come back to the Convention Center Saturday after shifting outdoors in South Philly for the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers of the nation’s oldest horticultural event — which made its debut in 1829 — hope the Philadelphia Flower Show can reemerge from the dwindling crowds and sagging sales of the outdoor pandemic shows.

Necessary context: Prior to the pandemic, the Flower Show drew 250,000 visitors and raised about $1.5 million each year. That revenue disappeared during the pandemic and neither show turned a profit.

This year will be a test to see if the majesty of the flowers can lure back the visitors it lost. Planners promise a more robust offering than the pandemic shows and past iterations at the Convention Center.

The larger lineup will feature popular parts of the festival-outdoor shows, like a garden path and more bands in the Grand Hall, an extended Artisan row, a butterfly garden, and a marketplace with double the vendors from last year.

Keep reading to hear from vendors and long-time flower show devotees who hope its grand return exceeds expectations.

Joanna McClinton became Pennsylvania’s first female Speaker of the House on Tuesday.

Her election makes her the first Black woman to assume the role and only the second Black speaker in the state’s history.

After a false start in November when Democrats prematurely held a news conference declaring they had a majority — and anointed McClinton their pick for speaker — the House elected her to the position Tuesday.

The party-line vote came right after Mark Rozzi (D., Berks) resigned from the position and backed McClinton.

A brief history: She ascended into the leadership role after representing Philadelphia in the state legislature for the past seven years, known for advocacy for criminal justice reform and women’s health issues.

Continue reading to learn more about what her leadership could look like based on her voting record.

Our main story today is all about the Philadelphia Flower Show.

What is this year’s theme?

A) The Garden Electric

B) In Full Bloom

C) Habitat

D) None of the above

Find out if you know the answer.

💻 Viewing: Columnist Helen Ubiñas’ opinion video on why you should be paying attention to the upcoming Democratic primary in the Philadelphia’s mayor’s race.

💭 Wondering: If a new Philadelphia City Council proposal to create a new public safety role is about reform or a power grab over future mayors.

🎧 Anticipating: Chlöe Bailey’s release of her debut album, In Pieces, at the end of this month.

Hint: This former Eagle’s benefit concert returns this summer 🎤

CROWBAR NINON

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Heidi Schumacher, who correctly guessed Tuesday’s answer: Julius Sturgis. Email us if you know the answer.

I’ll catch you here at the same place, bright and early tomorrow morning. ☀️