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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.

On January 24, we officially launch our new Science Strategy, a framework guiding our science going forward.

This rare horticultural gem first came to Longwood nearly 70 years ago, and we use that original plant to propagate a crop each year for A Longwood Christmas.

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.

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.

As the reach of humans continues to extend into even the farthest corners of the globe, what was once remote wilderness has now been impacted by humans, and the need for measures to conserve rare plants is greater than ever. Here at Longwood, our plant exploration program has changed and evolved in response to such changing measures.

Central Asia is home to an incredibly beautiful, exciting, and charismatic flora, much of which is found nowhere else in the world. Our first-ever trip resulted in great promise of future field explorations to bring new and exciting Central Asian species back to Longwood and other US gardens.

Plant exploration is vital to bringing new and potentially useful plants to Longwood Gardens. These plants may be used for various purposes: creating displays, systematically building our collection of over 11,000 types of plants, breeding new plants, or for plant conservation. For the past two years we have targeted the Caucasus region, which encompasses the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, to search for new hardy plants.

Plant exploration plays a vital role in Longwood’s efforts to bring new plants into the Gardens. We travel to targeted regions throughout the world to find new plant species, which we then bring home to grow and evaluate. I recently finished a collection trip to the floristically rich Republic of Georgia; the goal of the trip was to explore seldom-visited regions of the country to search for and collect new species of woody and herbaceous plants.

Plant hunting often conjures images of remote, steamy jungles rich in exotic species new to gardens and science. While scientists from Longwood Gardens often participate in such expeditions to discover plants for our displays, the truth is that plant hunting and exploration can take on myriad forms. One of the most efficient ways of obtaining new and useful plants is to visit nurseries across the globe. Since many countries have well-established nursery industries, this type of plant exploration can be particularly useful for investigating the latest plant introductions from around the world.