In its 45-year history, the Shipley Sprouts horticulture club has received countless ribbons (including many first-place Blue Ribbons) for their competitive entries of bulbs and succulent container gardens at the Philadelphia Flower Show. The Sprouts, led by advisor Sarah Sterling, have branched out in recent years to win accolades in other areas as well.

In 2020, the group entered the Garden Design Challenge, earning the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society’s “Best of Blues” for their Pocket Garden submission, Take Cover! The miniature green-roofed cabana combined principles of sustainability and engineering to achieve a creative and meaningful design addressing the impacts of climate change.

In 2021, the Sprouts took first place in the Public Garden category of the Design Challenge, which asked competitors to “Transform a harsh hell strip located along a busy street into a strip of heaven using rooted plants.” Their entry, Seeds Indeed!, featured native pollinators and a ‘Little Seed Library’ to encourage passersby to help transform other hell strips into heavenly gardens of their own. The garden design also received a Rosette from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Herb Society of America.