It’s a question that’s been posed for years: if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

The beautiful terrariums, containers, centerpieces, cloches, and more living works of art, available for purchase in The Shop, are created by our talented Planted by Longwood team.

Among our many conservation efforts is our recent work in propagating and restoring hundreds of one of the rarest plants in Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium vanbruntiae).

I was asked to escort photographer Larry Lederman around the Gardens while he took photos for a book about the du Pont family gardens of the Brandywine Valley. At the time, I didn’t know that working with Larry would shape the next 14 months of my life and change how I view Longwood. 

This year, as part of the Professional Horticulture Program, our nine students have been asked to design, create and maintain three garden designs based on the scheme of change and adaptation.

Found in such spaces as the Visitor Center, by the Guest Services desk in the Main Conservatory, or in the conservatory of the Peirce-du Pont House, our arrangements take their cues from the seasons and are styled in natural ways to highlight their connections to the Gardens.

Whether compost is being used in our Gardens or in your garden, its benefits are numerous.

With its name composed of two Japanese characters that mean “grass” and “thing”, the literal translation of kusamono—a Japanese botanical art of small, potted grasses traditionally displayed next to bonsai as seasonal accent plants—may suggest that this Japanese botanical art is unassuming or falls secondary to its bonsai counterpart.

The way in which a tree grows is often determined by their environment, and as a bonsai artist, I look to honor that environment, and the way in which that tree would grow in nature, when determining how to shape and style a bonsai.

While we often think of the landscapes around our homes as self-contained, they’re actually part of a broader landscape mosaic —and each home landscape can make a profound impact on that mosaic and the variety of wildlife (and people!) that rely on it.

The practice of land stewardship constantly raises new questions—how best to approach a new problem; what methods work best—that can be answered using the tools of ecological science.

Through April, classic spring plants such as hydrangeas, azaleas, and fuchsias bloom indoors in new and exciting varieties.

Most of our indoor camellias have wrapped up their flowering for the year, but those that are still in bloom give a hint of the camellias planted in the outdoor gardens, and also hint at our behind-the-scenes breeding work with this group of plants.

This year, as part of the Professional Horticulture Program, our nine students have been asked to design, create, and maintain three garden designs based on the theme of change and adaptation.

Since 1955 all orchids in our collection have been accessioned and their life status tracked in a system whose “record will be of information and great value for our program of public education,” as was reported to our Board of Trustees in October 1955.

Paperbark maple’s attributes alone make it worth promoting, but its conservation status has lent additional importance to working with it.

Our bonsai collection is about to grow by significant depth and breadth and, of course, tremendous beauty.

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15), which pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society, we share the stories of some of the orchids that serve as floral emblems in Hispanic countries, and the importance of those orchids as part of our collection and display here at Longwood.

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.

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.