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A Dazzling Return: Our Waterlily Court
An almost unfurled white waterlily growing in a pool, surrounded by green leaves.

A Dazzling Return: Our Waterlily Court

Our newly enhanced Waterlily Court is an aquatic showcase like no other—and it’s making its much-anticipated debut on May 9, marking the completion of Longwood Reimagined.

By Katie Mobley, on May 7, 2025
Planting with Purpose: Native and Noteworthy Plants
White flowers blooming on the branch of a dogwood tree.

Planting with Purpose: Native and Noteworthy Plants

Want to learn how you could incorporate the best natives into your home garden or landscape? Read on for how to do so and where you can view native species here at Longwood.

By Lea Johnson, Jessica Turner-Skoff, and Katie Testa , on April 30, 2025
A Rare Bonsai Book Mystery
A book propped open, placed under a glass case.

A Rare Bonsai Book Mystery

Bonsai was not generally known in the western world outside of Asia until the early twentieth century, but the Longwood Gardens Library recently acquired a nearly 300-year-old rare book that perhaps challenges that notion, offers an interesting connection to one of our bonsai collection’s four original trees, and adds to the intrigue of this amazing art form.

By Gillian Hayward and Kevin Bielicki, on April 16, 2025
A Spring Evening Stroll Through the Garden
Blurry yellow flowers on a hillside at dusk.

A Spring Evening Stroll Through the Garden

I had the extraordinary experience of walking the Gardens as they come alive at evening … here I share with you all I saw—and photographed—and all there is for you to see during our spring evenings.

By Patrick Greenwald, on April 9, 2025
A Nursery, A Lifeline
The base of a large tree, wrapped in burlap and thick twine.

A Nursery, A Lifeline

Considering the vastness of our collection, our operations, and our acreage, it might be surprising to learn that a dedicated team of just three full-time woody nursery horticulturists manages our seven-acre woody nursery, supporting all our seasonal and permanent woody plants.

By Katie Mobley, on April 2, 2025
Behind the Scenes: Bonsai Workshop
A portion of a dark wall, with pegs, holding plant pruning tools.

Behind the Scenes: Bonsai Workshop

Adjacent to the new Bonsai Courtyard, this three-story building houses horticulture staff workspaces, boiler operations, and, now, our Bonsai Workshop. Follow along we take a behind-the-scenes look at this storied space and its integral role at Longwood.

By Katie Mobley and Kevin Bielicki, on March 19, 2025
A New Chapter for Our East Conservatory’s Story
An overhead image of the East Conservatory at Longwood Gardens, featuring bright pink flowers, ferns, and palms.

A New Chapter for Our East Conservatory’s Story

Starting this season, we have replaced the East Conservatory’s lawn along the Oval Basin with a permanent collection of vibrant, tropical plantings designed to pull guests into the story and narrative of the garden

By Clay Stradley, on March 5, 2025
High Tech Meets Happy Plants: Our West Conservatory
The indoor of a conservatory with a fontain running through the center and plants in beds on either side.

High Tech Meets Happy Plants: Our West Conservatory

By working with nature and never against it—and to adapt to the needs of its Mediterranean-inspired plant palette—we built our West Conservatory with energy-efficiency and sustainability at top of mind.

By Katie Testa, on February 26, 2025
Winter Wow, Right Now
Bright orange flowers growing next to an agave plant in a garden bed.

Winter Wow, Right Now

. It’s our very first winter with the new West Conservatory, meaning it’s your very first chance to witness this architectural showstopper begin its peak flowering season.

By Katie Mobley and Kenny Silveira, on February 12, 2025
A Practice in Patience
A person potting a bonsai in a brown pot topped with moss.

A Practice in Patience

This month in the Peirce-du Pont House Conservatory, the beauty of bonsai is on full display—as is the beauty of learning and collaboration.

By Katie Mobley, on October 16, 2024
The Model of Craftsmanship
A model of a glass conservatory sitting in an outdoor model train display.

The Model of Craftsmanship

Our remarkable Garden Railway has delighted guests of all ages for 24 years now … and how this multi-level world in miniature all comes together is no small feat.

By Katie Mobley, on October 9, 2024
Stone by Stone and Plant by Plant: Reimagining the Cascade Garden
A close up of a large green leaf with a light mist of water on top.

Stone by Stone and Plant by Plant: Reimagining the Cascade Garden

To move the Cascade Garden into its new, free-standing, custom-built glasshouse required us to relocate, reconstruct, and preserve this prized garden in a way no other institution has done before—stone by stone and plant by plant.

By Katie Testa, on September 26, 2024
Squash Season is Here
An orange squash growing on the vine in a garden.

Squash Season is Here

When you think of autumn in a garden, pumpkins and squashes most likely come to mind—and for good reason! Follow along as we share more about these festive fall favorites, how to grow them at home, and how we’ll soon be featuring their flavor here at Longwood in what may be a very unexpected way.

By Alex Correia, on September 18, 2024
Habenaria: A Palette of Possibilities
Pink and orange Habenaria flowers against a black backdrop.

Habenaria: A Palette of Possibilities

What if you could hold in your hand a bouquet of 50 neon orange, bright pink, or coral-colored flowers, all on a plant that could fit inside your coffee cup?

By Greg Griffis, on September 11, 2024
Happy Tenth Anniversary to the Meadow Garden
A view of the Meadow Garden path in late summer at Longwood Gardens.

Happy Tenth Anniversary to the Meadow Garden

Ten years ago, we opened the gates to an expanded garden—and one that’s markedly different from every other garden at Longwood.

By Lea Johnson, Ph.D., on September 4, 2024
Time to Shine: Summertime Containers
A stone plant container with red and pink cosmos overflowing out of the pot.

Time to Shine: Summertime Containers

Container gardening has many benefits—and can lead to beautiful displays, as you can enjoy right now in our Rose Arbor, outside of the Peirce-du Pont House, and outside of The Café.

By Avery Haislip and Jocelyn Kline, on August 7, 2024
Colors of Summer: The Square Fountain Garden
A stone staircase in the background with orange flowers in the foreground.

Colors of Summer: The Square Fountain Garden

Follow along as I share the design of this summer’s Square Fountain Garden, the beauty you can see here, and how the plants chosen for the garden support pollinators, formalize the informal, and evolve throughout the season.

By Patrick Greenwald, on July 24, 2024
Telling a Design Story: Planting the West Conservatory
The inside of the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens with purple plants in the foreground looking up at the glass ceiling.

Telling a Design Story: Planting the West Conservatory

Our November 22 opening of Longwood Reimagined continues to draw nearer, and with each passing day not only do we continue to make great progress, but we grow even more excited to share its beauty with you.

By Chad Davis , on June 19, 2024
Ensuring the Longevity of Roses
A rose bush with an empty bench to its left.

Ensuring the Longevity of Roses

From work we do here in our Gardens to manage such threats, to our support of related research led a multidisciplinary team from nine universities and the US Department of Agriculture to deepen understanding of such diseases—we are working to ensure the longevity of this iconic plant in our Gardens and beyond.

By Rachel McDonald and Kate Santos, Ph.D., on June 5, 2024
Our Idea Garden, Reimagined
The Idea Garden at Longwood with spring plantings in the beds and the conervatory in the distance.

Our Idea Garden, Reimagined

Featuring five unique garden spaces—including the redesigned Ornamental Kitchen Garden—the Idea Garden echoes some of the classical elements of the Main Fountain Garden and blends the formal with the less formal, and notably the agrarian.

By Katie Mobley, on May 15, 2024