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Squash Season is Here
An orange squash growing on the vine in a garden.

Squash Season is Here

When you think of autumn in a garden, pumpkins and squashes most likely come to mind—and for good reason! Follow along as we share more about these festive fall favorites, how to grow them at home, and how we’ll soon be featuring their flavor here at Longwood in what may be a very unexpected way.

By Alex Correia, on September 18, 2024
Habenaria: A Palette of Possibilities
Pink and orange Habenaria flowers against a black backdrop.

Habenaria: A Palette of Possibilities

What if you could hold in your hand a bouquet of 50 neon orange, bright pink, or coral-colored flowers, all on a plant that could fit inside your coffee cup?

By Greg Griffis, on September 11, 2024
Time to Shine: Summertime Containers
A stone plant container with red and pink cosmos overflowing out of the pot.

Time to Shine: Summertime Containers

Container gardening has many benefits—and can lead to beautiful displays, as you can enjoy right now in our Rose Arbor, outside of the Peirce-du Pont House, and outside of The Café.

By Avery Haislip and Jocelyn Kline, on August 7, 2024
Colors of Summer: The Square Fountain Garden
A stone staircase in the background with orange flowers in the foreground.

Colors of Summer: The Square Fountain Garden

Follow along as I share the design of this summer’s Square Fountain Garden, the beauty you can see here, and how the plants chosen for the garden support pollinators, formalize the informal, and evolve throughout the season.

By Patrick Greenwald, on July 24, 2024
Ensuring the Longevity of Roses
A rose bush with an empty bench to its left.

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.

By Rachel McDonald and Kate Santos, Ph.D., on June 5, 2024
Cynorkis: A Jewel Box of Possibilities
The Cynorkis orchid with small pink flowers set in front of green foliage.

Cynorkis: A Jewel Box of Possibilities

Our first hybrid CynorkisCynorkis Longwood Pink Gem—is now on view for the first time in our Orchid House for the next week, and ready to delight.

By Greg Griffis, on May 1, 2024
Winter is for Houseplants
Pink, green, and white leaves of a houseplant.

Winter is for Houseplants

Follow along as I share some fantastic houseplants to add to your home, as well as ways to keep your existing houseplants thriving and beautiful this season.

By Avery Haislip, on January 17, 2024
A Very Handmade Holiday
A birdhouse made from lego blocks hanging on an outdoor evergreen tree.

A Very Handmade Holiday

From living wreaths, to floral chandeliers, to creative ornaments, we’ve had so much fun rolling up our sleeves and hand-creating for the season.

By Katie Mobley and Katie Testa, on December 6, 2023
A Delicious Blast from the Past: Retro Holiday Recipes
Four round pastries displayed on a wooden board.

A Delicious Blast from the Past: Retro Holiday Recipes

Just like our A Longwood Christmas display it’s the small details (and the deliciously big impact!) that make these retro recipes shine. What’s more, they’re perfect for your holiday table.

By Executive Chef Will Brown, on November 22, 2023
What Larry Taught Me: Photographing Longwood
A landscape at Longwood Gardens featuring tall trees and rhododenrons in bloom.

What Larry Taught Me: Photographing Longwood

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. 

By Jackie Miller, on August 9, 2023
Following Nature’s Cues for Floral Design
A vase of purple flowers on a table.

Following Nature’s Cues for Floral Design

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.

By Steven Cox, on July 12, 2023
The Secret in Our Soil
A bulldozer moving a large pile of dirt.

The Secret in Our Soil

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

By Jourdan Cole, on June 21, 2023
How to Create an Ecologically Friendly Home Landscape
two bees on organce flowers

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.

By Pandora Young and Lea Johnson with Katie Mobley, on May 10, 2023
How to Create Your Own Living Succulent Tree
a close up image of succulents forming a tree

How to Create Your Own Living Succulent Tree

One of the many elements of botanical artistry on display during this year’s A Longwood Christmas greets you just as you enter the Conservatory—an 8-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide living tree swathed in 1,800 gorgeous hardy Sempervivum, or hens-and chicks.

By Kerry Zwack, on December 14, 2022
Plants as Our Palette: Holiday Recipes
a plate of food, drink, bowl of soup and a vase of flowers on a wood table

Plants as Our Palette: Holiday Recipes

This year, as we showcase botanical splendor at its finest with our horticulture artists using plants as their palette, I’m inspired to showcase the jewels of the garden with a selection of botanical-forward dishes perfect for any holiday gathering.

By Executive Chef Will Brown, on November 16, 2022
A Summertime Tart Close to My Heart
pastry sitting on a plate with whipped cream and blackberries on top

A Summertime Tart Close to My Heart

Even though summertime is quickly coming to a close, there’s still plenty of time to savor the freshness of the season.

By Pastry Chef Cecilia Gaudioso, on August 17, 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
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
Warm Weather Recipes by a Rising Star 
plate of food set on a white table

Warm Weather Recipes by a Rising Star 

It’s a perfect time of year to prepare refreshing selections that celebrate the bounty of the season, crafted with fresh late spring and early summer herbs, fruits, and more.

By Executive Chef Will Brown with Chef Amanda Clarke, on May 11, 2022