Our Blog

Longwood has a remarkable number of places within the garden for you to escape the heat and put your life into chill-mode.

Ten years ago, we opened the gates to an expanded garden—and one that’s markedly different from every other garden at Longwood.

The practice of land stewardship constantly raises new questions—how best to approach a new problem; what methods work best—that can be answered using the tools of ecological science.

Through our new lepidopteran monitoring initiative, Longwood’s Land Stewardship and Ecology team is working with dedicated volunteers to understand which butterflies, moths, and skippers are frequenting our Meadow Garden, and what that says about not only the Meadow Garden, but the ecosystem of our greater landscape.

The Webb Farmhouse’s history spans a long time before Longwood Gardens existed, and the evolution of the land helps tell its story.

A meadow is a moment in time, like the shape of a cloud or cherry blossoms in the spring. A meadow is ephemeral.

If you live in a place where Eastern bluebirds might thrive, you can support this species at home with your own bluebird house.

In the Meadow Garden this time of year, life is all around when you look for its clues—and careful observation yields beautiful results.

From our roles as part of the Longwood Natural Lands Team and prescribed fire crew, to our work fighting wildfires across the country through the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry Wildland Fire and Delaware Wildland Fire Program—including a deployment to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests this past summer—we are thrilled to be part of (and often on the front lines of) the evolving field of fire ecology. The field is a hot topic gaining traction at Longwood and beyond, and one that helps us steward the land we love.

From shaded woodland paths to sunny wildflower-lined trails, our Gardens provide perfect spots for relaxed strolls as well as more energetic treks. Take a peek at just a few of our welcoming walking trails below and discover much more with a visit to our Gardens.

This spring we have been feeling the heat in the Meadow Garden! This 86-acre space at Longwood combines horticulture and ecology to create an environmentally sensitive landscape. Although this area of rich biodiversity may seem wild and maintenance free, meadows actually require regular attention. A typical meadow like the one here at Longwood requires regular scouting for invasive plants, the removal of woody plants, and a yearly mowing or burning. Historically, meadows in the eastern U.S. burned naturally as a result of lightning storms, or by Native Americans, who used fire to maintain plant communities and manage game animal populations. At Longwood, we have been practicing prescribed burns since the mid-1980s, with specific areas being burned on a rotational basis. This year a prescribed burn of our Meadow Garden was carried out on April 6.