|
|
This week, we bring you new experiences, new beauty, and new possibility. Beginning January 23, Winter Wonder is all about outdoor spacious, indoor oasis, and the power of story. Outside, envelop yourself in a feeling of peace and tranquility with a walk amongst the winter landscape. Inside, step into a sanctuary of warmth and a paradise of flowers and foliage, bursting with color … all in a beautiful indoor winter wonderland with a tropical twist. Both outdoors and in, experience our new exhibition Voices in the Landscape: Deeply Rooted with Storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston, a beautifully poignant journey that can be enjoyed in-person throughout the Gardens or virtually from home. Read on for new online reading opportunities with our Community Read, enjoy a new paint-by-number, and get acquainted with our new nursery production greenhouse on our blog.
| |
Embark on a beautifully poignant journey with storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston as she honors and celebrates the strength, resilience, and contributions of the African American community through the lens of horticulture and the power of story. Through a series of 10 stops experienced in-person throughout the Gardens via your phone, or virtually from home, follow Charlotte’s powerful voice as she leads you through the landscape.
Hear an ancient Zulu creation myth paired with the oldest plant on Earth in the Conservatory; make your way to the Lookout Loft Treehouse and lean in to the story of the significance and symbolism of woods and meadows; call out the name of an ancestor in remembrance at the Large Lake while a traditional spiritual soothes your soul; and much more.
When experiencing the exhibition in the Gardens, we recommend using headphones when listening to the audio files via your phone. Before your visit, please make sure your phone is charged. Once you’re in the Gardens, connect to FreeGardenWifi, turn on location services, and connect to our mobile map to navigate the experience. You’ll also find Voices in the Landscape signage at each audio experience location.
| |
Available every Friday and Saturday beginning January 22, enjoy delicious three-course and five-course Dinner-for-Two winter selections, à la carte signature dishes, and cocktails ordered online and picked up curbside. What’s more, for every Dinner-for-Two sold, we will donate four meals to Kennett Area Community Service.
To experience 1906 at home, place your order, pay for your order, and select a pickup time between 3 and 7 pm all via OpenTable. You will then receive an order confirmation and receipt from OpenTable that includes directions to the Longwood Bus Lot, where you can pick up your order at your scheduled time. Once there, simply pull into a numbered space and remain in your vehicle as a 1906 team member places the order in the back of your car ... and then enjoy.
| |
Longwood and our community partners—gardens, museums, conservation organizations, and public libraries—are proud to offer the eighth year of our Community Read, through which we encourage reading for pleasure and starting conversations. This year, we ask readers to discover how one finds a passion for nature and explore what can become of that spark through two books: The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham (adult book) and Ruby’s Birds by Mya Thompson (for younger readers). Get a head start on the Community Read by reading the eBook of The Home Place, available for free through our Members-only eBook collection! Then, get out in nature for a self-guided bird walk or take part in events throughout the region.
In addition to The Home Place, Longwood Members have access to more than 7,000 eBooks, that you can read from anywhere! Our expansive eBook collection includes subjects on horticulture, botany, garden design, botanical illustration, garden and landscape design, natural history, and wildlife.
(Search for The Home Place by J. Drew Lanham once you’ve logged into the eBook platform with your Membership number.)
| |
One of the highlights of this year’s A Longwood Christmas display was our Children’s Christmas trees beautifully decorated with creations crafted by Members’ children and grandchildren. Thank you to all of the Members who contributed ornaments to help create this holiday magic. Whether you didn't have the chance to see them, or would like to see them again, we wanted to share many of these ornaments that were on display with this special feature in Our Gardens Your Home. These ornaments are finding a new home at Brandywine Valley Active Aging, where they’ll be enjoyed for years to come.
| |
Set within our existing nursery property on Route 1, our new nursery production greenhouse consists of a 15,600-square-foot headhouse and 65,348-square-foot greenhouse … but it’s much more than a new building. Its groundbreaking design increases our level of environmental control, automation, and overall sustainability beyond bounds. It also enables us to grow more and different plants more precisely and with less resource input. In short, this innovative facility opens new worlds for us in elevating our display quality to an even higher level … the beautiful results of which you’ll enjoy in future displays in the seasons ahead.
| |
|
|
Paint a Longwood Landscape
| |
Create your own wintery vista of our beautiful Topiary Garden right from the comfort of your home. Print out the template and then, using your own paints and supplies, work your artistic magic!
| |
Our Gardens are a place of contemplation and respite, especially amid the peace and tranquility of the winter landscape. Please share your favorite winter moments from our Gardens. Submit them through our #LongwoodLove initiative on our website or use #LongwoodLove when posting online.
This week, enjoy a moment by Member Chris W.:
We live just two hours from Longwood. By chance, we decided to check the Gardens out back in the early 2000s. I could hardly believe the beauty that unfolded before our eyes! My wife and I visited each year, and, then, I took a chance, and took my Environmental Science class to Longwood. I did not expect the positive response from a bunch of high school juniors and seniors. They absolutely loved the experience. Now retired, my wife and I became Members for the first time this past year. The pandemic made it a bit more challenging, but the Gardens were just as beautiful as ever. We will be renewing our Membership again this year. Thank you, Longwood.
| |
|
Delve into Gardens History
| |
Our Conservatory opened in 1921, with the greenhouse containing what’s known today as the Silver Garden originally used to grow peaches and nectarines. It wasn’t until the complete redesign and renovation done by renowned garden architect Isabelle Greene in 1989 that the current shape of today’s Silver Garden was complete.
This beautiful, multi-textured garden now showcases plants inspired by and found in the Mediterranean and desert regions, calling attention to the dry, arid landscapes in which these plants are found. The plants in this garden survive in nature aided by silver-colored foliage to reflect light, by succulent leaves and stems to store water, and by long tap roots. Hairs, waxy coatings, spines, and cupped leaves also help trap moisture or reduce transpiration.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
