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Gardens: Main Fountain Garden District

How to Grow Early Spring Vegetables

How to Grow Early Spring Vegetables

If timed carefully, the vegetable gardener can reap the rewards of frost-tolerant spring vegetables—peas, broccoli, kale, arugula, cabbage, spinach, carrots, radishes, scallions, cilantro, and lettuce, to name a few.

By Alex Correia, on February 25, 2021
Growing for Good
a plot of plant harvest

Growing for Good

This growing season, Longwood joined the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in their new program, Harvest 2020. An initiative designed to help address the 11 percent of households in the Greater Philadelphia region that are food insecure and unable to access healthy, fresh food on a daily basis.

By Nicole Krom and Alex Correia, on November 11, 2020
The Art of Heart
a bronze statue of two goats surrounded by greenery and trees

The Art of Heart

We are so pleased to welcome a new addition to our Idea Garden—an intricately detailed, beautifully realistic life-sized bronze sculpture by celebrated Brandywine Valley artist André Harvey (1941–2018).

By Katie Mobley, on October 21, 2020
Midsummer is for Sowing
stem of green leafy vegetable in mulch

Midsummer is for Sowing

This month, don’t forget about fall crops, or you will miss out on a bounty of greens, root vegetables, squashes, and more—many of which are of higher quality in cool fall weather and can store through the winter.

By Alex Correia, on July 9, 2020
Our Evolving Rose Garden
plants in black containers on a bed of soil

Our Evolving Rose Garden

When you return to visit us again, we hope you’ll make the Rose Garden one of your first stops … there is something new to see!

By Judy Stevenson, on June 22, 2020
Getting Started with Vegetable Gardening
row of green leafy vegetables planted in mulch

Getting Started with Vegetable Gardening

With more time at home this spring, there has never been a better time to start that home vegetable garden you’ve always wanted.

By Alex Correia, on May 6, 2020
Calculating Beauty: Our Main Fountain Garden Lindens
three rows of linden trees without their leaves

Calculating Beauty: Our Main Fountain Garden Lindens

Our trees—including the 168 linden trees in our Main Fountain Garden’s south, east, and west allées —are among the most exceptional parts of Longwood’s past, present, and future.

By Tyler Altenburger, on March 25, 2020
Waking the Giant
white hallway with pipes on the sides

Waking the Giant

Preparing the Main Fountain Garden for its annual awakening is a multi-faceted process of plumbing and electrical ingenuity that begins months before the fountains start to dance.

By Katie Mobley with Raymond Mackey, on May 7, 2019
Making Our Fountains Dance

Making Our Fountains Dance

Our imaginative fountain choreographers utilize cutting-edge technology and artistic finesse to create astonishing performances.

By Katie Mobley, on August 17, 2018
Maintaining Tradition: A Boxwood Story
An old photograph of the Main Fountain Garden from 1950

Maintaining Tradition: A Boxwood Story

The pinnacle of Pierre S. du Pont’s love for gardening is set to reopen next summer to the delight of thousands of eager guests. Meticulous planning went into the revitalization of the Main Fountain Garden, with much consideration given to preserving the legacy of Mr. du Pont and the property he purchased in 1906. In addition to saving the arboretum that the Peirce brothers started in 1798, Pierre became the steward of a large collection of boxwood that was planted among the trees leading to the Peirce home.

By Shem Ruszczyk, on September 16, 2016
No Stone Un-Conserved
a group of construction workers cleaning a dirty stone wall

No Stone Un-Conserved

What are the components of a grand fountain garden? Dazzling water effects powered by hydraulic calculations, an inspiring design, and a stunning landscape are all parts of an unforgettable scene. For Longwood Gardens’ Main Fountain Garden (along with many other gardens built in the European tradition), sculpture is key to the Garden’s character, lending a unique and intimate quality. Each hand-carved stone is one-of-a-kind and tells a story of both the designer’s aesthetic as well as the artisan’s hand. As our Fountain Revitalization Project progresses, our trusted partners at Dan Lepore & Sons are the stewards of these cherished objects—cataloging, cleaning, conserving, and repairing more than 4,000 individual artifacts that will all eventually be returned to the Garden. This monumental task, like so many other components of the Fountain Revitalization, combines traditional craftsmanship with the latest advances in conservation and project management.

By Jennifer Fazekas, on August 18, 2015