Our Blog

Here, ahead of Reverse the Red Day—a global movement and International Union for the Conservation of Nature initiative that encourages biodiversity conservation on a global scale—we share the latest in conservation horticulture at Longwood and what’s ahead.

The Longwood Gardens Library was very fortunate to receive a recent gift reflective of our commitment to the conservation of native orchids: a rare 1931 two-volume set of Orchids of the North Eastern United States photographed from nature and published by American fine arts photographer Edwin Hale Lincoln.

Located adjacent to our Student Exhibition Garden, our new-this-season bog garden mimics naturally occurring bogs in the eastern United States, where carnivorous plants, orchids, blueberries, and plants that like having “wet feet” can grow naturally.

Longwood developed its Orchid Conservation Program in 2015 to ensure that a variety of orchid species are saved for generations to come.

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.

The field of ethnobotany—the study of how a region’s plants are used by the local culture and people—is a fascinating topic and one that considers much more than a given plant’s aesthetic appeal.

Bog gardens serve as a means of beautifying traditional gardens and enhancing plant collections, but they can also play a role in safeguarding rare plants and conserving the flora and fauna of globally rare and threatened ecosystems.

At Longwood, we have developed an orchid conservation program that addresses the science, research, and curation of locally, nationally, and globally rare species.

When you think of endangered species and conservation programs, you may think of our nation's zoos and aquariums and their work with wildlife preservation. Native flora may not come immediately to mind, but in Pennsylvania alone, the US Department of Agriculture lists almost 300 plants as endangered or threatened. Pennsylvania is home to nearly 60 species of native orchids. Some are among the showiest and most charismatic members of our native flora, but most are rare and threatened in the wild. Climate change, invasive species, habitat loss, and a booming white-tailed deer population have decimated many orchid populations in Southeastern Pennsylvania and across the region. To combat these issues, and to provide critical information about the propagation and growth of native orchids in cultivation, our Research Team at Longwood Gardens is developing a conservation program.