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# Get your late-summer tomatoes at this Philly cemetery
- URL: https://www.theplatia.com/philly-cemetery-veggie-garden/
- Published: 2026-09-17T19:43:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T15:07:52.000Z
- Description: Peppers, eggplant and houseplants bloom at GreenHorn Gardens in Arlington Cemetery
- Author: Annemarie Dooling
- Tags: Food

About 1% of the total land in Philadelphia is used for cemeteries, with many historically designated and no longer in use for burials. With cocktail parties at Laurel Hill and jazz picnics at St. Peter’s on Pine Street, we’re ahead of most cities when it comes to creative uses of this space for the living. 

But just about the most creative and helpful use I’ve seen sits about 30 minutes outside of Center City, where Arlington Cemetery provides some of its grounds to [GreenHorn Gardens](https://www.greenhorngardens.com/?ref=theplatia.com). 

The greenhouses of GreenHorn sit among headstones, across from a mausoleum, filled with houseplants, succulents, and herbs. There are shelves of plant care items, books, and whimsical ephemera like colorful wind chimes and plant buddies. Monstera, lemon balm and many other varieties of plants are available for pickup or delivery. Outside, a garden of mums, and this season, a pumpkin patch with green, white and orange varieties, scarecrows and black birds setting the scene.

Off from the pumpkin patch, GreenHorn offers a pick-your-own flower garden. It’s a bright sea of yellow sunflowers and purple and red perennials waving in the early fall breeze, ready to be plucked into a jar and taken home. While this area is wall-to-wall flowers now, it used to be the area where GreenHorn planted its vegetables. This year, beefsteak tomatoes, green and jalapeño peppers and Black Beauty eggplant were planted in containers to maximize the flower space. 

You can still purchase them from a box at the register, constantly filled as items ripen, or even order them online for pickup. 

### How you can help. 

Buying vegetables from mixed-use land can inspire more creative uses of land, and more local, fresh vegetables in your own backyard. When we support small farms - even tiny little plots like this one - we make a vote with our dollars that we want more small providers like this, with more transparent farming techniques. 

[Check them out on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/greenhorn%5Fgardens?ref=theplatia.com) if you’re participating in the [Philly Plant Crawl](https://www.instagram.com/phillyplantcrawl/?ref=theplatia.com), for information on all services offered during the program. 

> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdZoWVZuHMa/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
> 
> [A post shared by Annemarie Dooling (@travelinganna)](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdZoWVZuHMa/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)