Look and Breathe

Enjoy video and image highlights of the colorful emergence of spring. Follow us for more beauty on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Follow #OurGardensYourHome for bloom highlights from gardens across the US.

Celebrate

A First Look at A Longwood Christmas

It’s beginning to look a lot like A Longwood Christmas! Our annual holiday display opens today and we thought we would give you a first peek at our spectacular Music Room, decked out to look like a festive Christmas morning! The Music Room is just one part of our spectacular holiday display that spans indoors and outdoors. From 48 trees—some as tall as 25 feet—decorated with 18,000 glittering ornaments inside, to 500,000 twinkling outdoor lights and fountains dancing to holiday music, warmth and cheer are here at A Longwood Christmas.

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Wonder

A Thousand Reasons To Celebrate

The star of our Chrysanthemum Festival has arrived! This year our remarkable Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum features 1,362 perfect yellow blooms on a single plant. This beautiful behemoth takes 17 months to grow and intense attention from our talented horticulturists to shape it into its unique form. One of the most nerve-wracking moments each year is delivering this 12-foot wide plant to the Conservatory from its home at our Nursery. Watch the Thousand Bloom’s journey in our fun timelapse video from a previous year, and make sure to come see this year’s Thousand Bloom, and the other amazing mums on display, during Chrysanthemum Festival on view now through November 15.

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Discover

All About Camellias

Camellias have graced our Gardens since 1919 when Pierre du Pont planted the first in the Peirce-du Pont House conservatory. Today, camellias remain an important collection to us and can be seen year-round in our Camellia House in the East Conservatory. Native to Asia, camellias are evergreen shrubs with dark green, lustrous leaves that can grow to a height of 20 feet. They bloom in late fall or early spring and add beautiful color to the garden when most other plants have yet to begin or have finished flowering. We began hardiness trials and a breeding program in the early 1960s to evaluate and develop camellias that can tolerate colder winters. Learn more about our Camellia breeding process with Dr. Matt Taylor, Director, Research and Conservation.

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Explore

The Great Ginkgo

Did you know that the Ginkgo biloba is closely related to conifers? Ginkgos, conifers, and cycads (among others) are all gymnosperms, seed-bearing vascular plants in which the ovules or seeds are not enclosed in an ovary. Learn more about this fascinating tree in a photo story by Elisabeth Meyer of North Carolina State University and check out our easy reference guide to conifers. The presentation is part of Trees, Shrubs, and Conifers, our upcoming online course that starts October 19.

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Wonderful Woodland Plants

Woodland plants hold a special place for gardeners and anyone that enjoys the peace and tranquility associated with secluded settings. We love them too and have been busy collecting special forms of many different types of shade garden plants from around the world. Here are some of our recent favorites.

Podophyllum peltatum

The Mayapple, also known as Podophyllum peltatum, is a beloved native plant that occurs naturally in wooded areas in our region. The scientific name refers to the large umbrella-like leaves, below which a waxy white, faintly fragrant flower is produced, typically in May. The common name refers to the small, apple-like fruit that matures in summer and is eaten by box turtles, which also serve as a means of seed dispersal. Mayapple can be a bit of a thug in smaller gardens since it requires ample space to mature.

Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’

Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’ is a hardy and dependable garden plant that combines some of the best features of various species into a single plant. It can form robust patches of large, star-shaped leaves with green, gray, silver, and bronze highlights that look good throughout the season. The bright pink flowers are produced under the leaves and are always a surprise for curious garden visitors.

Podophyllum delavayi

Podophyllum delavayi (also called Dysosma delavayi) is among the best known of the Asian Mayapples with dramatically colored spring foliage. In cool climates the coloration can last into summer, but fades in our climate as the summer heat sets in. Despite this it looks good throughout the growing season. Like other mayapples these plants thrive in shady gardens.

Podophyllum pleianthum

Podophyllum pleianthum lacks the dramatic emerging foliage coloration of P. delavayi but makes up for it with the size of its extra glossy leaves. This plant can reach nearly three feet tall and wide, with some forms boasting leaves nearly 20 inches in diameter. The large flower clusters beneath the leaves resemble grapes but are malodorous. Easily grown, this plant needs shade to thrive.

Podophyllum ‘Imperial Sunrise’

A hybrid of P. delavayi × P. versipelle, this plant combines the best of both species – the spring coloration of the former with the gloss, substance, and size of the latter. New to the market, we are testing its adaptability to our region. So far, the results are promising and one day you might see it in the Gardens.

Podophyllum difforme

The star of the Mayapples is Podophyllum difforme. As its scientific name suggests, there is great variation in leaf shape, size, and coloration. Our favorites are from a group we received from famed plantsman and former Longwood alumnus Barry Yinger. Plants of his “Starfish Strain” can develop into large, bold clumps that truly look like a sea creature as they emerge in the early spring.

Paris verticillata ‘Ryokutei’

One of the most special shade plants of them all is Paris vericillata ‘Ryokutei’. Not to be confused with the French city, Paris is a genus of plants related to our native Trilliums. This form was selected in Japan and boasts “double” green flowers that last late into the growing season, long after Trilliums and other spring ephemerals have retreated to dormancy.

Polygonatum odoratum ‘Kiyosumi Nishiki’

Variegated Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’) is a well-known and durable garden plant, but only represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the variation in this group of plants. An exciting selection we found in Japan is called ‘Kiyosumi Nishiki’, which is noteworthy for its yellow and green streaked leaves highlighted by red stems. It’s as easy to grow as standard Solomon’s seals.

Enjoy this unique glimpse of some of our iconic plants coming into bloom by Ty Seely.

It’s tulip time! Join Garden Manager Roger Davis on a tour of our blooms.

A Tale of Beauty, Rarity, and Mania

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A Tale of Beauty, Rarity, and Mania

By Katie Mobley,

on April 13, 2018

Tulips were first cultivated in the year 1000 and their rise in popularity can only be described as rapid, at times lucrative, and somewhat non-sensical.

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How to Start a Cut Flower Garden at Home

By Roger Davis, on March 31, 2020

A Beautiful Distraction

By Abbey Gau, on March 19, 2020

Botanical Curiosities of Spring Flowers

By Peter Zale, Ph.D., on April 3, 2019

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