What is Ikebana? Ikebana—ike meaning arrange, bana meaning flower—is not about following a set of rules and making a pretty arrangement.

Right now, beautiful examples of corn, rice, and sorghum in our Vegetable Garden (nestled in our Idea Garden) and even our Waterlily Display demonstrate the breadth and bounty of the amazing grass family.

One of the creations to come of the Longwood and Victory Brewing Company collaboration—and the beer that’s currently being featured in Longwood’s Beer Garden—is Longwood Seasons: Summer Strawberry.

While many cultivated plants in the Asteraceae are found throughout Longwood’s display gardens—from daisy-like gerbera and dahlias, summer favorites marigolds and zinnias, and fall’s spectacular asters and chrysanthemums—it’s in the Meadow Garden where you can truly appreciate the breadth of this plant family in a natural setting.

Fireworks at Longwood span a colorful history, from their debut during founder Pierre S. du Pont’s early garden parties and July Fourth celebrations to the spectacular Fireworks & Fountains Shows of today, set in the magnificent setting of our Main Fountain Garden.

While many flowers are worthy of captivating our attention, few have inspired hearts and minds throughout the ages quite like the lotus … a beautiful, interesting plant that is not only extremely useful but also incredibly symbolic.

Waterlilies are so special to Longwood that they were designated a core plant collection in our first and subsequent plant collections policies … plants comprising core collections are the highest priority at Longwood and central to our mission.

Here at Longwood, we like to honor the Fourth of July with a flourish that bends the norm … a patriotic design in the turf of our Italian Water Garden, achieved by bending the grass just-so to achieve a desired aesthetic.

It’s been said that those who can’t do, teach. Here at Longwood, however, the remarkably talented instructors Jane Godshalk, Cres Motzi, Nancy Gingrich Shenk, and Midori Tanimune prove that not only can they do floral design but they can certainly—and quite wonderfully—teach the art of floral design, while inspiring those students lucky enough to learn from them.

Haig Mardirosian, master of ceremonies for the 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition, has been a concert organist for more than 50 years and has more than 20 commercial recordings as soloist, ensemble performer, and conductor to his credit.

From Singapore to California and Shanghai to Arizona, hear from the Fellows as they detail the time spent at their host organizations, sharing lessons learned and memories made.

I had the absolute honor of sharing my thoughts on beauty and its role in protecting nature—our global garden—as a TEDxWilmington speaker.

Head of the organ department at The Cleveland Institute of Music, Todd Wilson will serve as the head judge for the 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition.

BalletX will take the Open Air Theatre stage with an exemplary program inspired by the culture of Spanish Harlem, film noir, and street dance … a program worthy of the ages and perfect for the starry-skied setting of our Open Air Theatre.

PHS President Matt Rader, who has been in his role for three years now, led an inspiring salon focused on entering an organization as a new leader and discussed the importance of new leaders knowing their sector, assessing and understanding their organization, empowering their staff, and delivering outstanding quality to both the community and an organization’s supporters.

For the second-year Professional Horticulture students who have designed this year’s Student Exhibition Garden, inspiration comes in the form of seeds—their resiliency, their resulting dyes and textiles, their importance in food crops, and the symbolism of seeding and growing an interest in biological science.

The art of bonsai is rooted in patience and harmony … a practice that entails contemplation and lots of decision-making along the way. Those decisions must be made from both a horticultural standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint in order to achieve the true goal of bonsai: nurturing and training a tree in a container to appear as it would in nature.

When it’s time to plant a tree at Longwood, I look to plant one with a story. … Our new sycamore originates from the incredibly massive tree just a few miles down the road at Brandywine Battlefield State Park in Chadds Ford.

For a librarian, managing images at Longwood Gardens is in the “dream job” category. Images are an essential tool for telling the Longwood story and sharing Longwood with the world. From beauty shots of seasonal displays to documentation of plumbers calibrating fountains to yearly Waterlily Display preparation, there is always something to photograph at Longwood. As Longwood’s digital resource manager, keeping up with the “fire hose” of images and delivering just the right images when they are needed is an exciting challenge … and every day is different!

Preparing the Main Fountain Garden for its annual awakening is a multi-faceted process of plumbing and electrical ingenuity that begins months before the fountains start to dance.