Explore Longwood Gardens

Tall spikes of white and purple flowers in an outdoor garden.
Hank Davis

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

View All Gardens
  • 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

  • Flowering Dogwood

    A beautiful spring Pennsylvania native, flowering dogwood is a medium-sized tree that blooms in late April to early May.  ′Appalachian Spring′ is slow growing but it flowers at a young age and is resistant to dogwood anthracnose, a fungal disease that causes cankers, which kill affected dogwoods.  Like other flowering dogwoods, it has red fruit, that attract birds, and reddish purple foliage in the fall providing another season of interest. 

  • Princess-tree

    This deciduous tree native to China, produces large, fragrant, panicles of lavender flowers in the spring.  The wood of this fast growing tree is highly prized and used to make furniture and musical instruments. Japanese craftsmen prize princess-tree wood for making the koto, a six-foot long, stringed instrument that is the national instrument of Japan. Kotos create music when the strings that bridge across the hollow body of the instrument, are plucked. The unique sound is distinctively energetic and reflective because of the resonance of the princess-tree wood.