Our Blog
Blog All Items Title
All Recent Articles
![A table of merchandise, including items in floral motifs and live plants](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/578934_spring-garden-shop-_gross_-carol-image.jpg?h=5c7eb606&itok=ZWWGAqRT)
Cultivating All We Are in The Garden Shop
On our one-year anniversary of The Garden Shop refresh, we reflect on a year of new people, new products, and new processes in the shop … and we invite you to experience all The Garden Shop has to offer.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/573015_blog-images_sarkar_-maya-image.jpg?itok=-eS1mo5r)
Stewarding (and Learning) Our Land
At Longwood, how do we—Longwood’s Land Stewardship and Ecology team—work to address and advance these complex systems of study here at Longwood and beyond?
![tall thin flower stem with multiple white orchid blooms in a field](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/567148_native-orchids-image.jpg?h=0b3f4158&itok=zcM7Sxat)
Science Behind the Beauty: Orchid Conservation at Longwood
Longwood developed its Orchid Conservation Program in 2015 to ensure that a variety of orchid species are saved for generations to come.
![Canopy Career Chronicles book cover propped on a stone wall with plants in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/544673_2022-community-read-books_gross_-carol-image.jpg?h=730999a4&itok=1dtchylH)
Building Community in Our Community Read
Each year dozens of organizations across our region join together to present programs around the topics covered in our Community Read books.
![orchids in multiple colors lining the walls inside a glasshouse](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/569102_orchid-house_davis_-harold-_hank_-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_image.jpg?h=e5a01c3f&itok=FQthZ38O)
Orchids: An International Floral Emblem
Let’s take a trip abroad and explore which orchids that locales from Guatemala to the Seychelles have chosen to recognize and celebrate in their currency, their culture, and more … and discover when those revered orchids are in bloom here at Longwood.
![trees turning a green, yellow, and red shade](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/4223_peirce_s.-park_-autumn_albee_-larry-image.jpg?h=8aa965a3&itok=v_LiQaop)
Community Read: A Conversation with Author David George Haskell
![two school aged children examine a flower bed in summer](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/365536_summer-camp-week-5-image.jpg?h=21eed39c&itok=u6xjuOuH)
Guided by Student Curiosity
![a close up of a pink orchid with a yellow and red orchid in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/567214_new-orchid-house_davis_-harold-_hank_-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_image.jpg?h=7d0de453&itok=z6kNWq-9)
Navigating Our New Orchid House
Our Orchid House has been completely restored in the same way our founder Pierre S. du Pont would have done it himself—with excellence.
![a group of smiling Fellows pose for a selfie in front of the US capital building](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/fellows-at-the-capitol-1-image.jpg?h=185bc4fe&itok=K4HKdKET)
Five Strangers, One Incredible Experience
Living and working with five mid-career professionals—as our Fellows cohort does—is challenging, rewarding, fun, supportive, frustrating, at times lonely, inspiring, and sometimes hard to put into words.
![three standing and smiling for the camera while holding up seeds and plants](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/565026_springside-chestnut-hill-academy-image.jpg?h=932ad7fe&itok=w6__dzHC)
Planting the Seed
This project may lead to findings that could inform future orchid restoration plantings at Longwood, throughout Pennsylvania, and beyond … but also one that we hope could help inspire a new generation of conservationists.
![a Copper Beech tree on a rainy day with dark clouds in the sky](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/561196_copper-beech-slated-for-replacement_hill_-william-_bill_-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_image.jpg?h=4355065d&itok=hK0o_p7E)
A Goodbye, A Beginning
Here at Longwood, our trees are like family. They’re the reason Longwood exists—the backbone of our Gardens.
![sound equipment nestled between flowers with a view of stage and rows of seats](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/179390_2015-2016-performance-series-brochure_traub_-daniel-image.jpg?h=3d9ca993&itok=C3fG-MOh)
Music to Our Ears
Starting this month, live music returns to the splendor of our Conservatory—and we are honored to bring to you a fantastic lineup of artists.
![a black and white photo of a stone walkway with plants growing along the walls and roof](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/563572_marie-hansen-travel-photograph_niner_-william-_longwood-intern_-2-image.jpg?h=9d2edaf3&itok=jNSxP6YG)
Unraveling a History Mystery
In August 2021, the Longwood Gardens Library received a sizable donation of archival material from the Kennett Library, documenting the lives and stories of the people of Kennett Square— foremost among them the famous author and diplomat Bayard Taylor.
![a person crouched and tying equipment onto a tree that is in a cemetery](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/563351_picus-sonic-tomograph-device_altenburger_-tyler-image.jpg?h=4af88d1f&itok=mAES3uAB)
Using Sound Technology to Make Sound Decisions
In the last year, we have started to use a PiCUS Sonic Tomograph, a device that uses sound wave technology to advance tree care and the accuracy of tree risk assessments by allowing arborists to get a look at the inside of the tree when assessing its structural integrity.
![a Weeping Beech with a bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds in the background](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/496824_winter-landscape_hare_-sue-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_agg.jpg?itok=2jK_zxbG)
Longwood’s Weeping Beeches: Their Origins and Significance
Longwood is the proud home of two specimens on view that represent a strikingly impressive form of Fagus sylvatica, and whose beautifully undulating lines are perhaps best appreciated during the winter months after their leaves have fallen.
![a heavy construction area with a start of a new building in the middle and surrounded by dirt mounds and trucks](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/reimagined-blog-1-image.jpg?h=d94e401f&itok=2JXYopl9)
Longwood Reimagined: Beauty in the Making
As our Gardens continue to take shape and as our cultural landscape evolves, we are delighted to share with you a few of the many facets of this incredibly detailed project.
![fireplace hearth with a large cascading wreath filled with ornaments, bows, and fabrics](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/550897_christmas_mathias_-becca-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_image.jpg?h=4204a3f0&itok=2qKxSWUk)
A Place of Family
Even with all its grandeur, our Music Room scene still feels intimate, cozy, and welcoming … and that’s the exact sentiment we’ve set out to achieve in this spectacular fireside lodge setting.
![a close up of a Christmas tree with dried flowers and green ornaments](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/553586_christmas_gross_-carol-image.jpg?h=6f3da441&itok=Rc9dzlyP)
The Beauty (and Possibilities) of Dried Flowers
Here at Longwood (and at home), arrangements made from dried flowers serve as spectacular options for the holiday (or any) season … and they help showcase and celebrate the beauty of plants long after their natural growing season.
![a pool of water with a fountain in the middle and icicles along the sides with large Christmas trees surrounding the water](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/551806_christmas_davis_-harold-_hank_-_longwood-volunteer-photographer_image.jpg?h=c7710587&itok=zKBrO3dz)
The Art of Alpine
Our Exhibition Hall has been transformed into a true environment, meant to whisk you away to an entirely different world. How we created this world is a story in itself.
![a glass of alcohol with a set of hands lighting a lemon peel on fire](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_masonry_sm/public/blog_post_images/551002_christmas-fire-_-ice-recipes-with-chef-will_gross_-carol-image.jpg?h=e8aa0766&itok=ioXEVPIB)
Fire and Ice, Made Delicious
We’re thrilled to share with you some delicious fire and ice-inspired recipes perfect for your own home entertaining (one of which is even featured on our 1906 holiday menu).