Explore Longwood Gardens

Wide and soaring indoor view of glass house with arched glass roof, arched windows, lush greenery, floral accents, and a series of waterfalls flowing into a pathway of water.
Becca Mathias

Longwood Gardens, one of America’s quintessential landscapes, is a place of ever-changing seasonal beauty, handcrafted feats of horticultural wonder, and an awe-inspiring collection of the most beautiful plants from around the globe. 

From our humble beginnings as a Quaker farmstead and arboretum, to Pierre S. du Pont’s forward-thinking stewardship, to today’s collection of renowned landscape designers, horticulturists, and architects, our great garden of the world evolves and emerges again and again.

Through Longwood Gardens and its program of outstanding horticultural display, every visitor to the Gardens has the opportunity to gain, culturally and spiritually, a better peace of mind.

Russell J. Seibert, Longwood’s first director

Explore nearly 200 acres of lush, formal gardens, open meadows, and winding paths to breathtaking Brandywine Valley vistas. Together, mesmerizing displays, feats of engineering, and science-based research and conservation work harmoniously toward the overarching goal to unite and inspire our guests in appreciation of beauty—as only Longwood can. 

Explore Our Gardens

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  • Our Districts
    A stone path winds through a lush room of colorful plants with a hanging light above

    Our Districts

    Explore nearly 200 acres of lush, formal gardens, open meadows, and winding paths.

  • Our Seasons
    looking through fall leaves to the canopy cathedral treehouse

    Our Seasons

    We honor the four seasons with five unique Longwood seasons, celebrating the bounty of our gardens throughout the cycles of renewal, growth, and ever-evolving splendor. 

  • Our Plants
    close up of orange Clivia Miniata with green and yellow center

    Our Plants

    Explore over 10,000 species and varieties of plants, representing 200 different plant families. 

  • Our Science
    A person holds a small vial with plant material inside in a lab

    Our Science

    Our scientific work lays the groundwork for discoveries that expand our understanding of the natural world and help perpetuate and celebrate its beauty for generations to come.

What's in Bloom

See More of What's in Bloom

  • Jasmine Towers

    Our Floriculture team embraced the challenge of growing Jasminum polyanthum, a fragrant vine native to southwestern China, in a new way, training plants generally cultivated as hanging baskets into striking, oversized twelve-foot towers. These specimens required more than ten months of careful cultivation, beginning with vegetative cuttings that grew outdoors in the container field through spring and summer before being moved to a cold greenhouse for fall and winter vernalization, a necessary period of cold that initiates flowering. Three weeks ago, the plants were transferred to a warm greenhouse to encourage them into bloom. As you walk through the Main Conservatory, enjoy the sweet fragrance of the jasmine flowers. 

  • Winter-aconite

    One of the first blooms to appear in the new year, Eranthis hyemalis has sunny yellow flowers with a sweet honey-like fragrance. Its flowers look like solitary buttercups sitting on a circle of lacey green leaves. They open wide on sunny days from late winter to early spring and thrive in the shade of deciduous trees.  They will naturalize in well-drained, fertile soil under deciduous trees.