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Art for Anyone: Sogetsu Ikebana
What is Ikebana? Ikebana—ike meaning arrange, bana meaning flower—is not about following a set of rules and making a pretty arrangement.
![a close up image of a bead of grass](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/grass-image2.jpg?h=da0c8362&itok=bNElv8NP)
The Beauty and Bounty of Grasses
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.
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Get to Know Our Strawberry Brew
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.
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A Sea of Asters
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.
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Flowers in the Sky
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.
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The Luminous Lotus
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.
![purple Nymphea waterlilies floating in water with green leaves](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/2022-03/417026_Nymphaea%20_Detective%20Erika_Davis_%20Harold%20_Hank_%20_Longwood%20Volunteer%20Photographer_.jpg?itok=qHtt0BCv)
International Waterlily Competition Winners Now Blooming
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.
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Bent into Shape
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.
![Four floral designers smile broadly at the floral creations in front of them.](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/406901_floral-design-instructors_hill_-william-_bill_-header.jpg?itok=5tw_y024)
Designing Women
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.
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It Takes a Family
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.
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Worldwide Wonderment: Fellows in the Field
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.
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Seeing Beauty to Save Our Global Garden
I had the absolute honor of sharing my thoughts on beauty and its role in protecting nature—our global garden—as a TEDxWilmington speaker.
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Style, Color, and Tone: Making the Organ Sing
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.
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By Leaps and Bounds: Dance Under the Stars
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.
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Entering an Organization as a New Leader: Fellows Leadership Salon
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.
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Seeds of Inspiration
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.
![a person pruning a fully bloomed pink azalea bonsai](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/401100_azalea_bonsai_gross_carol.jpg?h=6f1cce0d&itok=nMzgkRSA)
Birth of a Bonsai
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.
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A Tree with a Story to Tell
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.
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Capturing the Beauty: Image Management at Longwood
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!
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Waking the Giant
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.