As the second institution to provide women with a practical education in horticulture and landscape architecture, it made possible their entry into a professional field.

Working in the fruit and shade-tree nursery on her family's estate in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, she became determined to found a school of practical horticulture for women in the Philadelphia area.

[6] Other board members included Mira Lloyd Dock, who wrote the school's constitution, Elizabeth Leighton Lee, Emma Blakiston, and Ann Dorrance.

The women students lived on campus, either rooming in the small college dormitory, or boarding in houses nearby.

[6]: 72 Louise Carter, a student in the second graduating class, of 1915, and later the fourth director of the Pennsylvania School, describes its perceived importance: "We were venturing into completely new territory for women, and we had no way of knowing what opportunities the future might hold for us.

By 1934, under the direction of faculty member James Bush-Brown, the school offered a 2-year "Preparatory course for Professional Study in Landscape Architecture".

Graduating students were eligible for advanced admission to the Cambridge School of Domestic and Landscape Architecture (later Smith College).

[13] In 1951, Bush-Banks donated her personal collection of 16th Century herbals to the school, as a cornerstone of the new Hilda Justice Memorial Library.

[4] The school was intended to offer women real professional opportunities, in areas including horticulture, garden design, estate management, farming, and education.

[6]: 72  To ensure that women would have the skills needed for a career in horticulture or agriculture, the school provided both theoretical and practical training.

The program of study also included optional courses on bee keeping, canning, raising poultry and dairy animals, and practical carpentry.

In 1916, eight students under the supervision of Elizabeth Leighton Lee created the Colonial Revival garden as the first project in landscape architecture at the school.

[16] The Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women was a generative place, fostering progressive ideas, programs and associations with far-reaching impact.

The Garden Club of Philadelphia was established in 1904 by Mrs. J. Willis Martin and Miss Ernestine Goodman, with the first official meeting being at Andalusia, the home of Mrs. Charles Biddle.

Once again, the organizers were inspired by international efforts, in this case the British Women's Farm and Garden Union, which had been established in 1899.

"[25] The first annual conference of the Woman's National Agricultural and Horticultural Association included a number of speakers, including King, of Alma, Mich., the president of the association; Miss Martha Van Rensselaer, director of home economics at Cornell University; and Mrs. J. Willis Martin of Philadelphia, president of the Garden Club of America, among others.

[31] In 1918, fourteen students represented the school in a defense parade in Philadelphia, carrying signs such as "Hens Against Huns" and "Don't Let it Rot - You'll Need it".

In 1957, under its fifth director, Jonathon French, the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women changed its name to Ambler Junior College, and was given the right to grant Associate of Science degrees.