Much of our variety in plants, garden design, and horticultural expertise comes from our exchange of knowledge with other public gardens, horticultural organizations, and skilled professionals from all over the world.

Since the days of the Peirce family, a pair of wrought-iron snakes have occupied various locations on the grounds, alternately delighting and startling unsuspecting visitors.

Our 2024 Community Read book, The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, isn’t just a remarkable selection that exemplifies the meaning we can all find in gardens—it also has a fascinating historic agricultural connection to Longwood Gardens.

Among those helping make Longwood Reimagined an upcoming reality is The Challenge Program, a local nonprofit that provides vocational training for Delaware’s youth to empower them with confidence, skills, and purpose—and the makers of custom furnishings that will grace the new buildings opening with Longwood Reimagined.

Located on Longwood property just south of the entrance to our Gardens, the Cox House sits alongside Route 1 and, in response to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s initiative to widen the road, Longwood made the decision to relocate the Cox House away from the road to ensure its ongoing preservation.

Growing up in a small, rural town in the South, The Secret Garden (our 2024 Community Read selection for our youngest readers) sparked my imagination at an early age with the idea of gardens as cloaked in mystery and secrets, filled with hidden beauty (and stories) waiting to be revealed.

While the use of rock salt, or sodium chloride, has served as a widespread, traditional method of combating snow and ice, in recent years a more advanced and efficient approach has gained popularity with the use of brine.

From carefully chosen plants to meaningful flags to symbolic wedding gifts of Pierre and Alice du Pont, the Peirce-du Pont Conservatory captures, in one place, the heart of the Longwood Gardens story—and, following its current refresh, that story not only continues, but thoughtfully evolves.

At Longwood, we create many spaces to explore your passions, practice your creativity, and deepen your wellness through diverse learning opportunities that allow you to dive deeper into your relationship with nature—and wellness.

Each of our upcoming organ performances is a testament to the power of music, and we are thrilled to be soon showcasing the talents of organists Nicole Keller, Bryan Anderson, and Alcée Chriss.

Follow along as I share some fantastic houseplants to add to your home, as well as ways to keep your existing houseplants thriving and beautiful this season.

No garden in American can equal such a performing arts legacy—and with Garden of Music I share the stories of Longwood’s performing arts legacy, in which over the years I have been—and continue to be—happily immersed.

With this year’s A Longwood Christmas season, we have had so much fun not only celebrating all things retro—but also sharing the immense creativity and talents of the many, many makers behind this spectacular display.

This year’s A Longwood Christmas display is bursting with festive trees, throwback toys, a vintage Christmas street scene, and much more … including seven trees in our Ballroom dressed in beautiful ornaments crafted by children from seven local youth-serving organizations.

A party wouldn’t be complete without fabulous glassware—and in the Music Room we’re proudly showcasing fantastic glass trees, candy dishes, and more crafted by two local nonprofit organizations—GoggleWorks Center for the Arts (Reading, PA) and Burning Branch Studio (Kirkwood, PA).

From living wreaths, to floral chandeliers, to creative ornaments, we’ve had so much fun rolling up our sleeves and hand-creating for the season.

Originally intended to be used as a farm truck on a private farm in Port Deposit, Maryland, this 1969 International Loadstar 1800 stake body dump truck sat unused for 20 years on the farm before it made its way to our Gardens—and into our hearts.

Just like our A Longwood Christmas display it’s the small details (and the deliciously big impact!) that make these retro recipes shine. What’s more, they’re perfect for your holiday table.

Follow along as we take a look at some notable A Longwood Christmas indoor and Conservatory displays throughout the decades, from new features to display milestones … and leading up to this year’s spectacular display.

At Longwood Gardens, we manage our natural areas to both promote native species diversity across the landscape and to help our guests create memorable and inspiring experiences discovering the dynamic beauty of our native habitats.