The Professional Horticulture class of 2024 has spent the past two years organizing and holding plant sales—selling numerous plants, many of which we grew ourselves—and last month we enjoyed the fruits of our labor with our trip to Portugal, a destination inspired by the Mediterranean garden design of the nearly completed West Conservatory of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden 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.

Our November 22 opening of Longwood Reimagined continues to draw nearer, and with each passing day not only do we continue to make great progress, but we grow even more excited to share its beauty with you.

To commemorate Juneteenth, and in collaboration with Kennett Square nonprofit Voices Underground and the Chester County History Center, we are proud to soon present Frederick Douglass Jazz Works—a discussion and jazz performance comprised of vocalist and composer Ruth Naomi Floyd.

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.

As part of the Longwood Fellows Program, Fellows spend two months with partner organizations around the world to immerse themselves in their host’s culture, learn from thought leaders, and share and grow their own expertise.

Featuring five unique garden spaces—including the redesigned Ornamental Kitchen Garden—the Idea Garden echoes some of the classical elements of the Main Fountain Garden and blends the formal with the less formal, and notably the agrarian.

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

Our beloved Whispering Bench is not only a lovely place to sit and take in the view; it’s a place of physics, history, and curiosity, where secrets have been told—and fun has been had—for generations.

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.

Much of our variety in plants, garden design, and horticultural expertise comes from our exchange of knowledge with other public gardens, horticultural organizations, and skilled professionals from all over the world.

Since the days of the Peirce family, a pair of wrought-iron snakes have occupied various locations on the grounds, alternately delighting and startling unsuspecting visitors.

Our 2024 Community Read book, The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, isn’t just a remarkable selection that exemplifies the meaning we can all find in gardens—it also has a fascinating historic agricultural connection to Longwood Gardens.

Among those helping make Longwood Reimagined an upcoming reality is The Challenge Program, a local nonprofit that provides vocational training for Delaware’s youth to empower them with confidence, skills, and purpose—and the makers of custom furnishings that will grace the new buildings opening with Longwood Reimagined.

Located on Longwood property just south of the entrance to our Gardens, the Cox House sits alongside Route 1 and, in response to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s initiative to widen the road, Longwood made the decision to relocate the Cox House away from the road to ensure its ongoing preservation.

Growing up in a small, rural town in the South, The Secret Garden (our 2024 Community Read selection for our youngest readers) sparked my imagination at an early age with the idea of gardens as cloaked in mystery and secrets, filled with hidden beauty (and stories) waiting to be revealed.

While the use of rock salt, or sodium chloride, has served as a widespread, traditional method of combating snow and ice, in recent years a more advanced and efficient approach has gained popularity with the use of brine.

From carefully chosen plants to meaningful flags to symbolic wedding gifts of Pierre and Alice du Pont, the Peirce-du Pont Conservatory captures, in one place, the heart of the Longwood Gardens story—and, following its current refresh, that story not only continues, but thoughtfully evolves.

At Longwood, we create many spaces to explore your passions, practice your creativity, and deepen your wellness through diverse learning opportunities that allow you to dive deeper into your relationship with nature—and wellness.