As the gardener responsible for the Waterlily Display, I can say firsthand just how much we delight in sharing the beauty and the display possibilities of our aquatics collection with our guests.

While sun gardens are places in which every flower color under the sun can be showcased, shade gardens are more subtle and elegant … and definitely a way to enjoy your outdoor space while taking refuge from the midsummer heat.

We are the steward of one of the most important collections of gardens and glasshouses, and one perfect example of that commitment lies in the 55 plants we’ve moved from their previous West Conservatory locations to new permanent homes in our Main and East Conservatory display spaces.

Our guests now have the chance to interact and engage with our bonsai … including the 10 stunning azalea bonsai trees with cloud-like, vibrant flowers we’ve just now put on display in our East Conservatory, as part of a new rotating bonsai display.

Among Longwood’s many methods of caring for our trees and helping facilitate their longevity is our lightning protection plan. Journey along with me as I walk you through the field of lightning protection.

After not being able to have a Student Exhibition Garden in 2020 because of the onset of COVID-19, we are incredibly excited to once again proudly showcase our students’ beautiful visions, hard work, and utmost care in the form of the three distinct gardens that reflect this year’s Student Exhibition Garden theme—signature and identity.

These late spring flowers have just recently made their debut along Flower Garden Walk, but we’ve been carefully planning and coaxing their arrival since last summer, using a growing technique rooted in precision and care.

Our frequently-changing display of specimen orchids gives our guests the chance to see some of the most spectacular and unusual selections from our collection of approximately 5,500 orchids.

With iconic, impactful, and simply gorgeous plants gracing nearly every corner of our Main and East Conservatory display, March is the time that many of our most signature plants are on view in full spectacular bloom.

As a Longwood Senior Horticulturist, I’ve had the pleasure of creating dozens of living wreaths and many succulent creations throughout my time here, but this year’s Silver Garden wreath is especially poignant and beautiful to me.

The poinsettia is an iconic holiday plant with an interesting history that, despite being notoriously difficult to grow, we’ve woven into many facets of this year’s Christmas display, grown in shapes and sizes found nowhere else on Earth.

This growing season, Longwood joined the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in their new program, Harvest 2020. An initiative designed to help address the 11 percent of households in the Greater Philadelphia region that are food insecure and unable to access healthy, fresh food on a daily basis.

We are so pleased to welcome a new addition to our Idea Garden—an intricately detailed, beautifully realistic life-sized bronze sculpture by celebrated Brandywine Valley artist André Harvey (1941–2018).

Determining peak timing is not as easy as one may think … when it comes down to it, the timing depends on the weather leading up to the fall months and, as we all know, the weather can be unpredictable.

Each fall, a multi-departmental team made up of members of our Horticulture, Facilities, and Guest Services departments together achieve the not-so-small-feat of creating this multi-level world in miniature.

A meadow is a moment in time, like the shape of a cloud or cherry blossoms in the spring. A meadow is ephemeral.

Chenille plant is native to tropical Papua New Guinea, and according to our plant records it has been grown at Longwood since at least 1957.

This hard-to-miss green giant hangs in the center of the Tropical Terrace and measures a sprawling 9.5 feet in diameter.

We have transformed part of the Idea Garden into our new Combination Garden, an intimate and exuberant mix of woody, herbaceous, and seasonal plants, all layered into one dynamic space just next to our Main Fountain Garden.