Making its official opening October 3, our Blooms & Bamboo: Chrysanthemum and Ikebana Sogetsu Artistry is unlike anything ever seen at Longwood … or anywhere else in the world.

What is Ikebana? Ikebana—ike meaning arrange, bana meaning flower—is not about following a set of rules and making a pretty arrangement.

Waterlilies are so special to Longwood that they were designated a core plant collection in our first and subsequent plant collections policies … plants comprising core collections are the highest priority at Longwood and central to our mission.

Ni hao! Earlier this month, we boarded three flights, flew for 24 hours, and arrived in Taipei, Taiwan on a two-week orchid adventure to attend the Taiwan International Orchid Show, explore new orchid breeding and cultural techniques, and see firsthand new and innovative orchid display trends in an area known most notably for its spectacular Phalaenopsis, among other beautiful orchids.

As Longwood’s director of Outdoor Landscapes, I am always excited about winter. It’s one of my favorite seasons and when the interaction between a garden and its surrounding landscape is at its strongest. The bare silhouettes of the deciduous trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses create a natural link to the wintery landscape beyond, creating a beauty unlike any other time of year. Low winter light really helps to elevate fine plant details, naturally highlighting the winter bones of Longwood.

Whether you’re peering into the tiniest detail of a golden intergeneric Oncidium orchid in our Cascade Garden, or looking up at the grandeur of the regal purple Phalaenopsis orbs that float overhead in our Exhibition Hall, every viewpoint of Orchid Extravaganza is one to enjoy—including the very first one when you step into the Conservatory.

Under the direction of Senior Horticulturist Pandora Young, staff and volunteers annually create the Wildlife Tree, an outdoor feature that calls attention to the birds and small mammals that live in the Gardens. This year, the Wildlife Tree has been dramatically redesigned as a spectacular 15-foot “tree” made of more than 200 illuminated birdhouses, located at the east end of Flower Garden Drive. Surrounding the tree are four smaller Fraser firs ornamented in suet and seeds to feed the wildlife.

Now is the time of year when you may find yourself pulling your boxes of Christmas ornaments and decorations from your basement or attic and getting ready to trim the tree. Here at Longwood, however, we like to do things a little differently with our ornament collection.

When it comes to the logistics behind Christmas at Longwood, we take this well-practiced approach: start with what you know and find out what you don’t. With this year’s floating forest display above the Fern Floor, we had much to learn, much to test, and much to love about this intensely logistics-focused display—with a beautiful result.

When you look at this year’s Ballroom Tree with its ornate gilded topper and more than 125 meticulously wrapped packages in rich pink and green hues, lobstering probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Interestingly enough, this beautiful tree was inspired by a tree made from, of all things, lobster pots.

This year’s imaginative Christmas display, in which we look at trees in a whole new light, most certainly hits a high note in the Music Room. It’s here where creative paper and book embellishments, anchored by a rotating 18-foot Fraser fir graced with a garland of silver and copper books, truly sing in a masterfully reimagined library concept.

Over the past 11 months, Longwood horticulturists have meticulously trained their chrysanthemum bonsai in preparation for Chrysanthemum Festival. The result is a collection of more than 90 beautiful plants, which can be viewed on a rotating basis through November 18, 2018.

At Longwood Gardens, we start planning for our Chrysanthemum Festival more than a year ahead of our display. At our July 2017 planning meeting for this year’s display, Longwood’s Associate Director, Display Design Jim Sutton brought with him a photo of a mum grown into the shape of a Japanese handheld fan. Jim suggested we try to grow one of our own here at Longwood, and our work began.

Renowned for its rare cultivars and imaginative forms, our Chrysanthemum Festival is the majestic embodiment of our unwavering dedication to preserving the time-honored technique and culture of mum-growing.

One of the pleasures of organizing a convening like Designing Water, which happened last week at Longwood, is that—by setting up a theme of disciplinary concerns, a framework for discussing them, and gathering smart and talented people—something great unfolds. Usually, hopefully, you wind up with a conversation that is different from the one you imagined because of all the intelligence in the room. This convening did just that.

This week, Kevin Sharkey and I participated in a garden discussion and book signing at the exquisite Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. More than 1,450 guests attended the talk in the historic Open Air Theatre.

Dorrance ‘Dodo’ Hamilton was a longtime and avid supporter of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. She passed away in April of 2017. Many know her as an heiress to the Campbell Soup fortune; those of us in the Brandywine Valley region remember her more for her outstanding entries in The Philadelphia Flower Show for so many years.

I love visiting gardens whenever I can, especially during this time when many conservatories are filled with colorful orchid displays. If you're in or near historic Kennett Square, Pennsylvania from now through March 25th, I encourage you to make a stop at Longwood Gardens to see the annual “Orchid Extravaganza.”

It’s the time of year that I anticipate more than any other at Longwood Gardens—Orchid Extravaganza is back for a triumphant expression of beauty through March 25, 2018. Our Conservatory is always filled with color, texture, form, and surprise, but when dozens of Longwood horticulturists are invited to express their passion for orchids (combined with an incomparable level of dedication and creativity), you have something that truly transcends description.

This year, our horticulturists are celebrating Christmas with a French flair, heralding the season with many a fleur-de-lis. You’ll spy this floral symbol of French royalty throughout our Conservatory—as ornaments on trees, in the design of the fruit floating on the Fern Floor of Exhibition Hall, and in the living wreath near the Potting Shed. A sense of luxury and opulence weaves through our Garden spaces, creating a tapestry of exquisite details. In a single visit, transport yourself to the palatial rooms of Versailles or to the quiet countryside of Provence, with your imagination as your passport.