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Telling Stories in Our Idea Garden
This summer, the Idea Garden is home to three special plots that showcase a guest favorite, as well as culturally significant crops that tell robust stories.
Growing From Afar
Even though the Waterlily Court can’t be visited until its 2024 reopening, the aquatic plants for which this space is known—including our famed Victoria water-platters—are still growing and thriving while awaiting their newly refreshed home.
A Winged Window into Our Local Ecosystem
Through our new lepidopteran monitoring initiative, Longwood’s Land Stewardship and Ecology team is working with dedicated volunteers to understand which butterflies, moths, and skippers are frequenting our Meadow Garden, and what that says about not only the Meadow Garden, but the ecosystem of our greater landscape.
Visit the Tropics in Our Idea Garden
From fragrant dwarf cardamom to vibrant mandarinquats, a variety of tropical herbs and plants are thriving in our Idea Garden, all of which can be reliably grown and enjoyed by home gardeners in the mid-Atlantic region.
Turf Care, Rooted in Data
Although we may be best known for our floral displays, turfgrass is an essential component of the overall health and appearance of our Gardens—and caring for our turfgrass is an ever-evolving science.
Disa, Redefined
Longwood is one of a small number of public gardens around the world who breed and display the Disa genus. We have recently met a major milestone that adds an entirely new dimension to our Disa history and our breeding program—and may increase the ease with which Disa can be grown at home.
Edible Plants that Feed Pollinators, Too
This week is National Pollinator Week, an annual event that celebrates pollinators, addresses the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations, and supports all we can do to protect them.
Appreciating Asymmetry
Through a bevy of tropical plants, palms, and Longwood favorites, we’ve planted our Conservatory in an asymmetrical design that encourages guests to slow down, look, and think a lot more about the nuances of the design.
A New Take on an Old Favorite: Rhododendrons
Longwood has made continual efforts to strategically build a beautiful and diverse collection of rhododendrons—and the dozens of newly donated plants soon making their way to Longwood represents a new milestone in our rhododendron collection.
A Labor of Love: The Topiary Garden
With 35 specimens and more than a dozen forms ranging from wedding cakes to spirals to birds, our Topiary Garden is much more than a collection of yews (Taxus)—it’s also a collection of stories told by those who have so expertly cared for it.
Trees as Connectors
The Songs of Trees is this year’s Community Read selection for Haskell’s poetic take on how human history, ecology, and well-being are intertwined with the lives of trees.
Cultivating All We Are in The Garden Shop
On our one-year anniversary of The Garden Shop refresh, we reflect on a year of new people, new products, and new processes in the shop … and we invite you to experience all The Garden Shop has to offer.
Stewarding (and Learning) Our Land
At Longwood, how do we—Longwood’s Land Stewardship and Ecology team—work to address and advance these complex systems of study here at Longwood and beyond?
Science Behind the Beauty: Orchid Conservation at Longwood
Longwood developed its Orchid Conservation Program in 2015 to ensure that a variety of orchid species are saved for generations to come.
Orchids: An International Floral Emblem
Let’s take a trip abroad and explore which orchids that locales from Guatemala to the Seychelles have chosen to recognize and celebrate in their currency, their culture, and more … and discover when those revered orchids are in bloom here at Longwood.
Navigating Our New Orchid House
Our Orchid House has been completely restored in the same way our founder Pierre S. du Pont would have done it himself—with excellence.
A Goodbye, A Beginning
Here at Longwood, our trees are like family. They’re the reason Longwood exists—the backbone of our Gardens.
Using Sound Technology to Make Sound Decisions
In the last year, we have started to use a PiCUS Sonic Tomograph, a device that uses sound wave technology to advance tree care and the accuracy of tree risk assessments by allowing arborists to get a look at the inside of the tree when assessing its structural integrity.
Longwood’s Weeping Beeches: Their Origins and Significance
Longwood is the proud home of two specimens on view that represent a strikingly impressive form of Fagus sylvatica, and whose beautifully undulating lines are perhaps best appreciated during the winter months after their leaves have fallen.
Now is the Time for Fall Bulb Planting
Now is the time to plant those bulbs—just as the Longwood intern class did in late October—in preparation for next year’s spring display.