Costs
Philadelphia and Kennett Square garden trips compared for transit and tickets
A Philadelphia and Longwood Gardens trip splits into two paid days and a city full of free ones, so compare tickets, transit and travel time first.
What to take away
- Longwood Gardens is the longer daya 45 to 75 minute drive from Center City and a seasonal adult ticket typically in the high $20s, parking included.
- The Philadelphia Flower Show is the transit day. SEPTA to Jefferson Station, then a short walk, with adult tickets typically $35 to $50 and weekday slots at the low end.
- For two adults the days come out close, near $118 for Longwood by car and near $126 for the Flower Show by train, lunch counted in both.
- Without a car the Flower Show wins. Kennett Square needs regional rail plus a rideshare, typically $50 to $80 round trip for the vehicle.
- City gardens cost nothing to about $15 a person. Bartram's Garden is free and Shofuso charges a small admission.
Comparing the two paid tickets
Every admission holds two numbers: the gate price and the total cost of the day.
Longwood Gardens
- Adult admission, typical range
- About $25 to $32, higher on weekends and holidays
- What the ticket covers
- Gardens, conservatories, fountain displays
- Entry
- Date and time slot, timed
- Parking
- Included with admission
- Time on site
- Three to five hours
Philadelphia Flower Show
- Adult admission, typical range
- About $35 to $50, weekdays lowest
- What the ticket covers
- Show floor, display gardens, competitions
- Entry
- Date and time slot, timed
- Parking
- Garage parking extra, often $20 and up
- Time on site
- Two to four hours
Ticket cost and coverage
Longwood Gardens
- Where
- Kennett Square, PA
- Gate cost
- Seasonal, weekend higher
- Covers
- Gardens, conservatories, fountains
- Extras
- Evening displays cost more
Philadelphia Flower Show
- Where
- Center City
- Gate cost
- Tiered by day and window
- Covers
- Show floor and displays
- Extras
- Preview events separate
City gardens
- Where
- Philadelphia
- Gate cost
- Free or modest
- Covers
- Grounds and garden
- Extras
- Pay-what-you-wish options
Treat the ranges above as planning figures, not quotes. Both venues price by date, by day of week and by entry window. Children and members usually pay less, and Flower Show preview events cost extra.
The gap between the gate price and the day total is the real cost of reaching a public garden, and it is where budgets break.
The American Public Gardens Association counts hundreds of member institutions, and the Philadelphia region holds an unusual share of them.
Getting there: rail, road and the last leg
- Book the Longwood entry window before you arrange transport. Your slot decides which route works.
- Drive I-95 South to Route 322. That is the fastest door-to-door option, 45 to 75 minutes depending on traffic.
- Or ride SEPTA Regional Rail to Exton or Wilmington, then book a rideshare for the last 20 to 30 minutes.
- Or join a charter bus trip run by a regional garden club. These sell out in peak seasons.
- For the Flower Show, ride SEPTA to Jefferson Station and walk two blocks to the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Rideshare supply in Kennett Square is thin, especially after dark. Book your return ride before you walk into the gardens, or agree a pickup time with the driver.
Driving to Kennett Square wins on time. On the city day SEPTA wins outright: no garage, no event-rate parking, and a short covered walk from the train. Our line-by-line account of where garden travel costs actually go shows why transfers, not tickets, wreck most budgets.
Getting to Longwood or Flower Show
Going to Longwood?
Drive I-95 to Route 322, parking included
Ride SEPTA to Jefferson Station, walk to show
Example: two adults, two garden days
Longwood day, by car
- Two adult tickets
- About $56
- Getting there
- About $22 in fuel and tolls
- Parking
- $0, included
- Lunch for two
- About $40
- Day total
- About $118
Flower Show day, by SEPTA
- Two adult tickets
- About $76
- Getting there
- About $10 in fares
- Parking
- $0
- Lunch for two
- About $40
- Day total
- About $126
The totals sit close enough that time decides, not money. Weekday Flower Show tickets pull the show day down to roughly $110.
Two rideshares instead of a car push the Longwood day to roughly $161. Pair that paid day with a free city day, and our two-day budget itinerary shows how the split holds up once parking is counted.
Free and cheap city gardens that change the maths
Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia is the oldest surviving botanical garden in North America. General admission to the grounds is free, and buses run there from Center City.
The Morris Arboretum in Northwest Philadelphia charges a modest adult admission, typically $10 to $20, and it is a train-plus-walk trip on SEPTA. The Fairmount Park Horticulture Center and the park grounds around it are free.
Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in West Fairmount Park charges a small admission, usually about $10 to $15. Free entry is normal at gardens run by public bodies, including the United States Botanic Garden in Washington.
Access, timed entry and ticket rules
Access rules differ by venue, and they decide what you pay and when you enter.
- Does your entry window allow re-entry if you leave for lunch
- Is parking included or charged separately
- Does the accessible entrance differ from the main gate
- Are companion or attendant tickets discounted
- Do timed slots sell out on your target date
Under the ADA, ticket sellers must offer tickets to people with disabilities on the same terms as other buyers, including accessible and companion seats. That covers Longwood ticketed events and the Flower Show under the ADA ticket sales rules.
Longwood publishes accessible parking, paved routes and wheelchair availability, and runs a shuttle from the parking area to the conservatory. The Convention Center floor is flat and hard-surfaced, which is easier on wheels than gravel. Our guide to ADA standards at public gardens lists what to confirm before you pay.
When each one actually runs
Longwood is open year round, with its heaviest seasonal displays in late spring and summer. The Christmas display typically runs from late November into early January and sells timed slots.
The Flower Show runs for about a week in late winter, usually late February into early March, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Confirm the dates before you build a trip around it.
