Gardeners on the Go
There is no better opportunity to experience the sights, smells, sounds, and textures of the plants and gardens in our region than on these unique trips.
Come along with our groups as we hit the road to learn design fundamentals in exceptional and varied gardens, buy plants at undiscovered nurseries, view massive champion trees, or just be inspired. Learn from your interaction with our experienced guides and share insights with other garden enthusiasts as you relax and let someone else do the driving on these daylong jaunts.
Courses:
A Peek Through the Back Door with Longwood Staff
Topiary Tales SOLD OUT
with Roger Davis
DATE: Saturday July 17; 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
FEE: $18 Garden pass member / $20 non-member
WHERE: Visitor Center Auditorium Lobby
or
Mowing Patterns with a WOW Factor
with Michael Zawislak
DATE: Saturday September 11; 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
FEE: $18 Garden pass member / $20 non-member
WHERE: Visitor Center Auditorium Lobby
Experience Longwood Gardens in the early morning before the gates open to the public. Join a small group to enjoy this informative, “insiders” view of the gardens. You’ll see the displays at their peak and learn how the magic is created. Wear comfortable shoes, and be prepared for an all weather walk.
Coffee will be provided to get you started. Come early and stay the day. Sunscreen and a hat advised.
LONGWOOD INSPIRATION: The Great Gardens of Italy
Travel with us!
DATE: September 7, 2010 depart from Philadelphia for Rome
September 18, 2010 depart from Florence for Philadelphia
View the itinerary at a glance.
For more information please contact Joan McClintock at jmcclintock@longwoodgardens.org.
Longwood founder Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) adored Italian gardens and derived inspiration from them as he built his own landscape and hydraulic wonders. We will experience firsthand the placeshe so loved as well as some more recent creations.
Rome will be our starting point and we’ll stay outside the city in Frascati for the first few days, after which we travel north to Viterbo and Siena. We’ll spend our final days overlooking Florence at the Villa Gamberaia, the model for Longwood’s Italian Water Garden and just recently available for lodging! All the gardens we’ll be visiting have been thoughtfully selected by Colvin Randall, Longwood’s PS du Pont Fellow who has studied Longwood history for three decades and who has travelled to Europe 14 times to visit gardens, and by Alessandro Tombelli, an Italian horticulturist based in Florence with a broad base of knowledge and a love for Longwood Gardens.
Join us for the First International Study Abroad Tour focusing on the Italian Gardens that inspired Pierre du Pont.
Garden Tour – Style & Material Focus
DATE: Friday, September 24; 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
FEE: $108 Garden pass member / $120 non-member
Lunch included
WHERE: Meet Visitor Center Parking Lot
Landscape Design Core Course
Students will visit a variety of unique gardens, both public and private, and will study the theory and structural design of the garden. The focus will be on design philosophy and the designer’s individual style, as well as material selection and use of special features such as water, lighting, and structures. Attention will also be given to determining the designer’s philosophy and individual style, as well as material selection and utilization of special garden features.
Students wishing to receive credit for their Landscape Design Certificate must complete and submit a worksheet or other assignment for a grade.
On the Trail of Champion Trees
SOLD OUT
DATE: Friday, October 15
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
FEE: $63 Garden pass member / $70 non-member Lunch included
WHERE: Meet Visitor Center Parking Lot
Come along and be a witness to what time can do in the landscape. This pleasurable trip has participants on the lookout for champion trees: the biggest, tallest, and oldest trees in our region, and in some cases, even in Pennsylvania and the nation. Students will measure and record tree circumferences, heights and spreads, and discuss tree identification and structure. Putting your hands on living history and standing at the base of one of these giant trees is an indescribable experience.
Limited enrollment.
Pennock Floral Company Tour
DATE: Friday, November 5; 12:30 PM to 5:00 PM
FEE: $63 Garden pass member / $70 non-member
WHERE: Meet Visitor Center Parking Lot
Start your holiday decorating with new ideas and purchases from the Pennock Company, one of Philadelphia’s leading flower wholesalers. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to tour its new facility, which is not normally open to the public. Learn how they purchase, prepare, and store fresh flowers. We will also tour the extensive design supply, silk and dried flower, and container departments where we will see the operation of this business in action.
This is a popular annual trip and a great opportunity for you to shop and/or open accounts after the tour. The bus will leave the back of the Main Visitor parking lot promptly at 12:30 PM (brown bag lunches are welcome) and return by 5pm.
Please bring a warm coat, you will be touring coolers kept at 37°F.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Longwood offers hundreds of lectures, courses and workshops each year that allow you to learn directly from our gardeners and horticulturists in our unique garden environment.
Find out more »
Professional Gardener Training Program
Longwood's immersive, tuition-free, two-year program combines a rigorous academic curriculum with hands-on learning.
Find out more »
Internships
Students can gain practical experience, learn horticultural skills and study plants in one of the world’s finest gardens through our internship programs.
Find out more »
