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Telling Stories in Our Idea Garden
vegetable garden filled with corn, squash, and other plants at sunset

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.

By Alex Correia, on September 14, 2022
Growing From Afar
close up of a waterlily platter with a white lotus flower

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.

By Katie Mobley, on August 10, 2022
A Winged Window into Our Local Ecosystem
a monarch butterfly resting on a pink milkweed plant in a meadow

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.

By Noelle Raezer, Kristie Lane Anderson, and Lea Johnson, on August 3, 2022
Visit the Tropics in Our Idea Garden
small sprouts of lemongrass popping up through the soil

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.

By Alex Correia, on July 20, 2022
Turf Care, Rooted in Data
large green grass lawn with big trees surrounding it

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.

By Shawn Kister, on July 13, 2022
Disa, Redefined
close up image of a red Disa orchid

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.

By Greg Griffis, on June 29, 2022
Edible Plants that Feed Pollinators, Too
close up of small purple flowers with a bee flying near one bloom

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.

By Alex Correia, on June 21, 2022
Appreciating Asymmetry
indoor conservatory with large palm leaves and pink flowers lining the path

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.

By Karl Gercens and Michelle Neff, on June 8, 2022
A New Take on an Old Favorite: Rhododendrons 
pink and white rhododendron plants

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.

By Peter Zale, on May 18, 2022
A Labor of Love: The Topiary Garden
view of a topiary garden with blue sky

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.

By Gabby Rowe, on May 4, 2022
Trees as Connectors
image of a tree looking up at the sky next to the trunk

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.

By Alison Miner, on April 27, 2022
Cultivating All We Are in The Garden Shop
A table of merchandise, including items in floral motifs and live plants

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.

By Mary Manning, on April 21, 2022
Stewarding (and Learning) Our Land

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?

By Maya Sarkar, on April 6, 2022
Science Behind the Beauty: Orchid Conservation at Longwood
tall thin flower stem with multiple white orchid blooms in a field

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.

By Peter Zale and Ashley Clayton, on March 30, 2022
Orchids: An International Floral Emblem
orchids in multiple colors lining the walls inside a glasshouse

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.

By Emily Conn, on March 16, 2022
Navigating Our New Orchid House
a close up of a pink orchid with a yellow and red orchid in the background

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.

By Greg Griffis, on February 23, 2022
A Goodbye, A Beginning
a Copper Beech tree on a rainy day with dark clouds in the sky

A Goodbye, A Beginning

Here at Longwood, our trees are like family. They’re the reason Longwood exists—the backbone of our Gardens.

By Katie Mobley, on February 2, 2022
Using Sound Technology to Make Sound Decisions
a person crouched and tying equipment onto a tree that is in a cemetery

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.

By Tyler Altenburger, on January 12, 2022
Longwood’s Weeping Beeches: Their Origins and Significance
a Weeping Beech with a bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds in the background

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.

By Kristina Aguilar, on January 5, 2022
Now is the Time for Fall Bulb Planting
a gloved hand presses a flower bulb into bare soil

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.

By Madison Thibodeau, on November 3, 2021