Cultivating Connection: Sharing Stories in Our Gardens

At Longwood, learning is core to our mission—and storytelling is a way in which we can engage with and teach our guests about the many facets of Longwood. With storytelling, we create a deeper relationship between our guests and our Gardens. Whether it’s an unexpected moment experienced during a guided tour, a warm exchange shared with a docent, a surprising fact learned on a garden label, or reading about what’s in bloom, storytelling cultivates connection. We are fortunate to have many talented storytellers here at Longwood … and, here, we celebrate just a few of them and all they cultivate, for so many.   

Led by Longwood Director of Interpretation and Exhibitions Dottie Miles, our approach to interpretation is rooted in a framework that guides garden-wide storytelling. We focus on beauty, through which we explore three main themes: plants, garden design, and history and legacy. We also weave in very important threads throughout these themes: plant conservation and environmental stewardship, and our staff that creates the beauty.

To engage with our guests, we curate a variety of interpretive programs and elements, including in-garden labels, tours, docents, and activities. We also offer exhibitions and installations that serve as extensions of the garden experience. One such effort is our new-this-year exhibit examining the art and science behind Chrysanthemum Festival, and how we achieve this horticulturally rigorous display. Through the exhibit, we share stories of making a Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum, training plants into forms, stewarding plant collections, and much more. 

Collaboration is at the heart of our approach to interpretation. Our team of garden leaders is dedicated to designing meaningful stories and adapting to the dynamic changes in the Gardens throughout the year. Working closely with designers, curators, and horticulturists, we craft engaging content, as well as develop and design resonant experiences. 

Led by Guest Engagement Tour Guide Manager Jackie Miller, our team of tour guides offer a love of Longwood and uncanny ability to tell good stories in their own voices. This team specializes in guided experiences for small and large groups, as well as leads our 30-minute Spotlight Tours, which focus on specific areas of the Gardens and change with the seasons— and have recently expanded to include our Longwood Reimagined spaces. 

Leading guided tours requires much preparation, collaboration, and anticipation of what our guests will want to learn more about. The team knows how the flame jets in the Main Fountain Garden work, to how the earth ducts keep our West Conservatory warm or cool. Knowing that our guests are garden appreciators of all levels, as well as experts in the trades we talk about, we prepare for many questions being asked of us during the tour; we love having infrastructure, design, and detailed stories ready when a plumber happens to be a guest on the tour, for example. 

As part of tour preparation, our tour guides partner with staff from our Horticulture and Facilities teams to walk through given spaces and learn more. It’s really a treat to talk with the teams; if you as a guest see a group of folks in the Gardens with clipboards, Longwood Gardens nametags, and huge smiles, that’s probably a group of tour guides taking a training walk! The team asks about any new plants or designs to share with guests; stories about crops that take especially long to grow or require specialized growing conditions; how we create our displays; and much more. 

To prepare for our current guided tours and Spotlight Tours focused on the horticulture, art, and science that make Chrysanthemum Festival possible, the team spent time walking through the growing areas with Horticultural Specialty Growers Jason Simpson and Emily Coghlan while learning about new forms and techniques for this year’s display, as well as time with Bonsai Grower Matt Turner while learning about this year’s chrysanthemum bonsai. 

Among the team’s experiences was watching horticulture staff and volunteers carefully disbudding, staking, and tying an entire greenhouse of exhibition chrysanthemums; seeing that effort and attention to detail firsthand helps share even richer stories of the art and beauty of Chrysanthemum Festival.

Led by Longwood’s Family Learning Manager Emily Gerber, Longwood’s team of docents specialize in one-on-one engagement at specific locations in our Gardens; many are subject matter experts on areas from the Orchid House to the Meadow Garden to Flower Garden Walk. Each has a special talent for meeting guests exactly where they are coming from, listening to their personal experiences and interests, and figuring out the perfect story or fun fact to share—all while creating a meaningful moment of connection. Just like our team of tour guides, our docents are constantly learning new content—and sharing new stories—season to season, display to display. 

Docent Dottie Bowen, who has been volunteering for seven years, embodies this skill. She reflects, “It is a special joy to share the stories of the history, design, and plants of the Gardens, and to watch the expressions of guests as they take in the beauty. I love the challenge of discovering the interests of the guests and selecting stories to tell that match their interests.” 

Our docents can be found throughout our Gardens, equipped with props, stories, and deep knowledge to engage our guests and help them learn more about Longwood. Each and every docent has an undeniable passion and love for that they do. Docent Gayle Jeffries, who has been volunteering with Longwood for nine years, shares that “It never feels like a duty or a chore to be learning new information to share with our guests. Every shift presents the opportunity to make a new, if only transient, friend.”

Our talented docents not only have a knack for sharing information, but for taking in guest wonderment. Peter McCallum, who has volunteered as a docent since 2011, shares, “All of the guests that I have encountered are impressed by the exceptionally high degree of stewardship that permeates Longwood Gardens.”

Any season and any time of day is the perfect moment to enjoy the Gardens. Docent Ed Mackel, who has volunteered with Longwood for eight years, shares his favorite time to engage with guests: “I especially like working in the morning as the guests line up in eager anticipation, and in the evening the scent of the Gardens linger and a whole new atmosphere emerges. The Gardens are a magical place and sometimes as a docent I feel like the magician’s assistant.”

A weekly online update led by Longwood Content Specialist Paula Butera-Kunkel, What’s in Bloom offers more than a seasonal update; it’s a way for us to connect guests with the deeper stories across the Gardens. By spotlighting what’s flowering and where, we help our guests plan their visit and to slow down, observe, and engage with the living landscape around them. 

Beyond their visual appeal, plants tell stories that extend far beyond the garden paths. They serve as windows into the regions they originate from, the ecosystems they support, and the cultural connections they carry. Whether it’s a medicinal herb from the Mediterranean, a sacred tree from East Asia, or a pollinator-friendly native wildflower, each species reflects a region’s climate, culture, and biodiversity. By highlighting a plant’s native range, historical uses, or ecological role, we reveal its beauty within a broader narrative. 

What’s in Bloom also helps guests imagine how these plants might grow in their own gardens. By highlighting a range of species, some familiar and some unexpected, we hope to encourage more thoughtful choices. Through What’s in Bloom, we aim to deepen our guests’ experience, not just through what they see, but through what they learn and feel. Hopefully, these stories help transform a garden stroll into a journey of curiosity and inspiration.