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![Two people in yellow protective suits standing in a recently burned meadow.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2024-06/772314_FOR%20BLOG%20Ignition%20crew%20members%20Carlos%20Rodriguez%20and%20Samantha%20Paine%20in%20completed%20meadow%20area%20_Noah%20Meanix%20.jpg?h=6cfc2255&itok=jqO2zUlF)
A Beneficial Burn Experience
Prescribed burns, which occur in such locations as our Meadow Garden, are a way in which we can maintain the meadow’s health by rejuvenating its native plant communities and suppressing woody vegetation that would otherwise quickly overrun it.
![A rose bush with an empty bench to its left.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2024-04/593407_Rose%20Arbor_Davis_%20Harold%20_Hank_%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=ynrXRXuK)
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.
![Two dozen small sprouting seeds in a glass bowl.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2024-02/748221_FOR%20BLOG%20-%20seeds%20_Zale_%20Peter.jpg?itok=faW7IYAe)
Seed Banking on the Future
With our recent award of a competitive grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as part of the Wild Resource Conservation Program, we are thrilled to be able to grow our efforts in preserving more species of conservation concern through the expansion of our seed bank.
![A brown and white hummingbird in air approaching a pink flower.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-10/478737_Meadow%20Garden_Davis_%20Harold%20_Hank_%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=n1O_moqE)
Diverse Habitats, Diverse Wildlife
At Longwood Gardens, we manage our natural areas to both promote native species diversity across the landscape and to help our guests create memorable and inspiring experiences discovering the dynamic beauty of our native habitats.
![The arms of a person working with chrysanthemum blooms.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-10/726759_Chrysanthemum%20_%20morifolium%20_Susono-no-Hikari_Hare_%20Joe%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=9Fc73f7s)
A Triumphant Return
This year’s Thousand Bloom of Chrysanthemum × morifolium ‘Susono-no-Hikari’ started its journey as a vegetative cutting 18 months ago—and today is not only a sight to behold, but a culminating example of the unchanging beauty and art of people and plants working together.
![Tall green grass with a single purple flower in the center of the image.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-08/658277_For%20Appalachian%20Jacob_s%20ladder%20blog%209.jpg?h=1dd5b30d&itok=KxHEWHd0)
Reaching for New Heights in Rare Species Conservation
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).
![A glass of beer on a picnic table in an outdoor beer garden.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-07/258746_Beer%20Garden_Davis_%20Harold%20_Hank_%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?h=ff718ca4&itok=vbs_udxk)
The Art and Science of Beer
We’re celebrating our newest brew with a special evening in our Beer Garden featuring Victory’s Senior Manager of Education and Training Max Finnance—who happens to be one of only 22 Master Cicerones in the world.
![two bees on organce flowers](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-05/174245_Garden%20Highlights_Ward_%20Candie%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_%20%281%29.jpg?itok=I6Z62a1V)
How to Create an Ecologically Friendly Home Landscape
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.
![a forest floor with many black pots of small trees lined up in a row](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-02/620088_Wood%20Chip%20Reforestation%20Study%20Installation_Johnson_%20Lea.jpg?itok=-YG3CXlJ)
Stewardship Science: Testing Techniques to Benefit Biodiversity
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.
![a statue of a foo dog in front of topiary trees](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-04/629506_Foo%20Dog%20Installation_Barnes_%20Holden%20_Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=zz5ZwGPa)
Restoring Longwood’s Guardian Lions
The removal, restoration, and reinstallation of these finely detailed—and heavy—sculptures required a delicate, almost surgical approach and in the process, we delved into their history and purpose at Longwood.
![A pink camellia flower in bloom with many green leaves around it](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-03/617250_Camellia%20_unnamed%20Longwood%20hybrid_Gross_%20Carol.jpg?h=e5b4aae0&itok=-F3QTBkx)
A Taste of Camellias
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.
![a terra cotta pot with a purple orchid set against a dark backdrop](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2023-01/453514_Dendrobium%20Guthbertsonii_Peignet_%20Yovenn%20_Longwood%20International%20Trainee_.jpg?h=7c426102&itok=2COI8vn6)
Every Orchid is an Individual
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.
![close up of the bark of a paperback maple tree](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2022-11/451554_Acer%20griseum%20-%20paperbark%20maple%20bark_Peignet_%20Yovenn%20_Longwood%20International%20Trainee_.jpg?itok=ixvOOlp9)
Paperbark Maple: A New Look at an Old Friend
Paperbark maple’s attributes alone make it worth promoting, but its conservation status has lent additional importance to working with it.
![a hand sprinkling a container onto a large green leaf](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2022-09/601012_Beneficial%20Insects%20_Gross_%20Carol.jpg?itok=awGs3dpy)
The Beauty of Beneficial Bugs
For many, seeing insects in a garden may lead to initial alarm and raise questions about what harm those insects could inflict on the plants. Not all insects, however, are bad and here at Longwood, we regularly release beneficial insects in certain parts of our Gardens.
![close up of a waterlily platter with a white lotus flower](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2022-08/523542_Waterlily%20Display_Davis_%20Harold%20_Hank_%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=jUOHyrCL)
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 monarch butterfly resting on a pink milkweed plant in a meadow](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2022-08/150587_Meadow_Potterfield_%20Tom%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=pnWkGHph)
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.
![close up image of a red Disa orchid](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2022-06/594211_Disa%20Longwood%20Renaissance%20Horizon%20_Sea%20Lord%20_%20Kewdior_Griffis_%20Greg.jpg?itok=MTC86l0f)
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.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/573015_blog-images_sarkar_-maya-image.jpg?itok=-eS1mo5r)
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?
![tall thin flower stem with multiple white orchid blooms in a field](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/567148_native-orchids-image.jpg?h=0b3f4158&itok=zcM7Sxat)
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 in multiple colors lining the walls inside a glasshouse](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/569102_orchid-house_davis_-harold-_hank_-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_image.jpg?h=e5a01c3f&itok=FQthZ38O)
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.