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A Beneficial Burn Experience
Two people in yellow protective suits standing in a recently burned meadow.

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.

By Samantha Paine, on July 3, 2024
Telling a Design Story: Planting the West Conservatory
The inside of the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens with purple plants in the foreground looking up at the glass ceiling.

Telling a Design Story: Planting the West Conservatory

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.

By Chad Davis , on June 19, 2024
In Their Own Words: Ruth Naomi Floyd and Voices Underground
An old frame containing a black and white image of a person in a tuxedo, surrounded by a gold inset on the frame.

In Their Own Words: Ruth Naomi Floyd and Voices Underground

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.

By Katie Testa, on June 12, 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
Learning—and Leading—Around the World
A desert garden featuring aloe, cactus, and a pond in the background.

Learning—and Leading—Around the World

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.

By Nathan Anderson, Edem Kojo Doe, Muluken Nega Kebede, Abby Lorenz, and Colin Skelly, on May 22, 2024
Our Idea Garden, Reimagined
The Idea Garden at Longwood with spring plantings in the beds and the conervatory in the distance.

Our Idea Garden, Reimagined

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.

By Katie Mobley, on May 15, 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
Do You Want to Know a Secret?
The end of a stone bench with a carved head of an eagle in it.

Do You Want to Know a Secret?

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.

By Gillian Hayward, on April 24, 2024
Seed Banking on the Future
Two dozen small sprouting seeds in a glass bowl.

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.

By Jessica Turner-Skoff, Ph.D. and Peter Zale, Ph.D., on April 10, 2024
Following Garden Pathways Around the Globe
A person kneeling down beside a garden bed smiling at the camera.

Following Garden Pathways Around the Globe

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.

By Kirsty Wilson and Katie Testa, on April 3, 2024
Uncle Pierre’s Iron Snakes
Two black iron snakes laying in a garden.

Uncle Pierre’s Iron Snakes

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.

By Kelli Stewart, on March 27, 2024
A Wartime Agricultural Connection
A black and white image of an old farm house.

A Wartime Agricultural Connection

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.

By Gillian Hayward and Kelli Stewart, on March 20, 2024
A Thing of Reimagined Beauty: Community and Sustainability
A persons hands getting ready to pick up a plank of wood.

A Thing of Reimagined Beauty: Community and Sustainability

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.

By Katie Mobley, on March 13, 2024
Preserving History: A Move for the Cox House
An old white house being moved on a large trailer with wheels.

Preserving History: A Move for the Cox House

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.

By Jourdan Cole, on March 6, 2024
Community Read: A Conversation with Author Julia Kelly
A book titled "The Last Garden in England" propped up in a flower garden bed.

Community Read: A Conversation with Author Julia Kelly

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.

By Hannah Rutledge, on February 28, 2024
Snow, Salt, and Sustainability
A freshly fallen snow with a paved path leading toward a large house in the distance.

Snow, Salt, and Sustainability

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.

By Katie Testa and Mike Raign, on February 21, 2024
The Peirce-du Pont House Conservatory: A Story, A Legacy
A black and white image of a small staircase surrounded by plants inside the Pierce du Pont house at Longwood Gardens.

The Peirce-du Pont House Conservatory: A Story, A Legacy

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.

By Kristina Wilson, on February 14, 2024
Learn Something New in Nature’s Classroom
Images of trees shot from the ground, looking up at the sky.

Learn Something New in Nature’s Classroom

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.

By Katie Testa, on January 31, 2024
Growing—and Teaching—through Music
A person seated at an organ playing the keys.

Growing—and Teaching—through Music

Each of our upcoming organ performances is a testament to the power of music, and we are thrilled to be soon showcasing the talents of organists Nicole Keller, Bryan Anderson, and Alcée Chriss.

By Kalee Emery, on January 25, 2024