Conservatory District

Gardens in this District

Acacia Passage

Acacia Passage

From the pendulous branches of the Acacia leprosa, puffs of sunny yellow emerge in February and March—offering a very welcome burst of optimistic color and fragrance amidst winter’s muted tones.
Cascade Garden

Cascade Garden

Inspired by an equatorial coastal rainforest, elemental simplicity reigns in the sole North American garden design by esteemed 20th-century landscape architect, artist, and activist, Roberto Burle Marx (1904-1994). A profusion of plants, water, and stone come together to envelop the senses, immersing you in a verdant mosaic of lush splendor.
East Conservatory

East Conservatory

Experience an unparalleled sensory journey through lush plantings, soaring classical architecture, and tranquil water features, including waterfalls, pools, and fountains under a half-acre of glass.
East Conservatory Plaza

East Conservatory Plaza

A feat of artistic vision and expert engineering, five tiers of sweeping, grass-covered terraces emerge like steps from the land, providing a grand transition from the forest to the Conservatory.
Green Wall

Green Wall

When nature calls, don’t miss this fern-laden glen of lush, vertical vegetation planted along 4,000 square feet. At the end of the hallway, a circular reflecting pool of marble awaits your gaze.
Indoor Children’s Garden

Indoor Children’s Garden

Let your kids get lost in a lush jungle of draping vines, drooling dragons, and secret stairways. Take a breather on a nearby bench as they shake their sillies in this whimsical realm of discovery.
Historic Main Conservatory

Historic Main Conservatory

In this ever-changing indoor space of perpetual bloom and uncommon, elegant beauty, familiar specimens flourish alongside mature trees and hanging baskets of intricately grown flowers, while a sunken marble pool and lush green lawns beckon.
Orchid House

Orchid House

Our new Orchid House is an open, gallery-like space with a new glass roof and restored interior and exterior concrete. Hundreds of orchids displayed in custom frame trellises and our restored bronze case showcase the beauty and diversity of our renowned orchid collection.
Silver Garden

Silver Garden

Designed by Isabelle Greene, a meandering pathway of slate snakes through rocky outcroppings of spiky, textural plants in otherworldly hues of platinum, cool green, and soft blue.
Bonsai Courtyard

Bonsai Courtyard

Contemplate the interconnectedness of art, nature, and perseverance as you wander this 12,500 square-foot garden featuring a ever-changing display of miniature trees. Selections of great rarity, ancient beauty, and vibrant seasonal interest are thoughtfully curated and displayed, inviting guests to slow down and take in the meticulous details.
Waterlily Court

Waterlily Court

On View Now
Showcasing aquatic plants from around the world, including South American water-platters and tropical waterlilies, this space invites an otherworldly experience of visual splendor and tranquility as you explore our stunning Conservatories.
West Conservatory

West Conservatory

A realm of unimaginable beauty and tranquility awaits beneath a soaring crystalline structure of contemporary design. Seemingly afloat atop sleek pools of water, airy pathways meander through colorful gardens inspired by the sun-kissed, Mediterrean regions of the world.
West Conservatory Plaza

West Conservatory Plaza

A sweeping terrace offers picturesque views for which the Brandywine Valley is renowned. Meandering pathways lead guests to expansive vistas, including a stand of 19th century sycamores and rolling, open meadows, marrying the native landscape with contemporary architecture.

Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience

Our legacy of innovation continues with the most ambitious expansion, reimagination, and preservation of our Conservatory and surrounding landscape in a century.

For more than 115 years, we have harmoniously blended art and science to create a horticulture experience of unparalleled splendor. With the realization of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience—a sweeping reimagination of 17 acres of our Conservatory and grounds—we are honored to enhance, steward, and preserve one of the world’s most important, most beautiful collections of gardens and glasshouses.

Stunning new buildings, wondrous new indoor and outdoor gardens, surprising new guest experiences, and much more await your visit. We’ve expanded our grounds, connecting them from east to west in a beautiful, unified journey of lush, formal gardens to open meadows to winding paths to breathtaking Brandywine Valley vistas. We’ve preserved and enhanced our cherished spaces to better showcase and grow our outstanding collections. We’re reflecting our founder’s vision and embodying our mission to create a world apart accessible to all for the celebration and enjoyment of horticulture. We've entered our next chapter … with you.

District Highlights

Sun streams through a glass window into a long hallway with pink hanging baskets

A small metal fountain shaped like a lotus plant spouts water into the air in front of a large rectangular area covered in water and lined with pink flower baskets

A stone path winds through a lush room of colorful plants with a hanging light above

A large hall full of people looks on to a stage performance under hanging baskets of pink orchids at night in a conservatory

A green wall of plants line the pathway down a wide curving hallway

Thin purple flowers sprout up out of green under a glass conservatory

A spinning Chirstmas tree captured with a long-exposure making light trails in a circular motion

A path leads into a room of tropical green, yellow, and red plants in a glass conservatory

What’s in Bloom

Anemone Mum

Chrysanthemum × morifolium ′Purple Light′

Chrysanthemums, a member of the aster family, have blooms which are composed of many tiny ﬂowers known as ﬂorets. There are 13 classes of chrysanthemums, deﬁned by the National Chrysanthemum Society, which categorize the plant by bloom shapes. Anemone mums have prominent, raised, cushion-like centers, made up of disk florets, and petal-like ray florets which surround the center.
- Orangery
Senna

Senna bicapsularis ′Butter Creme′
- Orangery
Ginkgo

Ginkgo biloba ′PNI 2720′ Princeton Sentry®

Ginkgo biloba, often called the maidenhair tree, is a living fossil and the last surviving member of a plant lineage that dates back over 200 million years. Native to China, where it’s long been cultivated around temples and sacred sites, the ginkgo has since found homes in cities around the world thanks to its resilience to pollution and pests. Its fan-shaped leaves turn a brilliant gold in autumn, drawing admirers even to quiet cemeteries where some of the oldest specimens can be found. The tree’s fruit, actually a seed with a fleshy outer coating gives off an infamously pungent odor when ripe, but inside lies an edible nut valued in East Asian cuisine. Extracts from the ginkgo’s leaves are also widely used in modern herbal medicine, often promoted for supporting memory and cognitive health. Ancient yet enduringly adaptable, the ginkgo remains a striking reminder of nature’s ability to survive and thrive across the ages.
Anemone Mum

Chrysanthemum × morifolium ′Mancetta Sunset′
- Orangery
Irregular Incurve Mum

Chrysanthemum × morifolium 'Early Seiko'

Pagoda Towers

The pagoda mum towers are a stunning blend of horticulture and art, featuring the cultivar Chrysanthemum × morifolium ‘Seiko’. Using a clever grafting technique, chrysanthemum shoots are attached to a central stem of Artemisia annua and trained to form tiered layers that mimic traditional Asian pagodas. The result is a vertical floral structure that combines precise training, grafting, and design, one of many specialty forms that make the festival a showcase of botanical craftsmanship!
- East Conservatory
Japanese Elm

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica 'Morton'
Lollipop Plant

Pachystachys lutea
Earth-star

Cryptanthus bivittatus 'Ruby'
- Cascade Garden
Irregular Incurve Mum

Chrysanthemum × morifolium ′Kokka Hougiku′
- East Conservatory
Camellia

Camellia sasanqua

This camellia, Camellia sasanqua, notable for its gorgeous fall to early winter flowers and lovely dark green, glossy leaves is named after its Japanese name Sazanka, where it is native. It is a highly branching, pyramidal to oval-shaped, evergreen shrub that normally reaches 6 to 10 feet tall. Hardy to USDA zones 7-9, the showy flowers can range from white to deep pink.
- Camellia House