Longwood Gardens
If possible, make the most of business trips and try to fit in visits to beautiful and interesting places in between meetings and events - I do.
During my latest trip and LIVE appearances at QVC in West Chester, Pennsylvania, I had the opportunity to visit the exquisite Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square. Longwood Gardens has a rich and varied history. For thousands of years, the native Lenape tribe used the area for fishing, hunting and farming. In 1700, Quaker farmer, George Peirce, purchased 400-acres of the English-claimed land and began developing the property. His decedents eventually created an arboretum of some of the finest trees in the nation. Unfortunately, as years passed, heirs lost interest and the land suffered decades of neglect until 1906, when it was obtained by Pierre du Pont - entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family. Pierre's passion and vision created the groundwork for what is now Longwood Gardens - home to many spectacular botanical collections including nine-thousand species and varieties of plants spread across more than 1,100 acres - all wonderfully maintained by hundreds of employees, students and volunteers. I encourage you to visit the next time you're in the area.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Beautiful specimens fill the main conservatory. The hanging baskets contain cape-primrose, Streptocarpus ‘Concord Blue.’ The columns are covered with Creeping Fig, Ficus pumila, Triangle Palm, Dypsis decaryi, Hybrid Cineraria, and Pericallis x hybrida ‘Sunsenepiba’ Sunetti® Pink Bicolor. And below, the turf is made from tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea ‘Jaguar 3.’
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- These hanging baskets are filled with Guzmania ‘Juliette,’ Dracaena marginata ‘Tarzan,’ Monkey-Flower, Diplacus grandiflorus, and Bartlettina sordida.
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- At Longwood Gardens, every space of the conservatory is filled. Here, the hanging baskets contain Phalaenopsis hybrid Areca Palm, Dypsis lutescens.
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- These are Asiatic hybrid Lilies, Lilium ‘Tiny Skyline.’ There are also white vein arrow leaf, Phyllotaenium lindenii, and broom, Genista x spachiana.
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- The Conservatory houses about 5,500 plant varieties in its indoor gardens – there is something to see in every corner.
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- Above the flooded floor of the Exhibition Hall in the Main Conservatory are hanging baskets of cape-primrose, Streptocarpus ‘Concord Blue.’ On both sides are potted Australian Tree Ferns, Cyathea cooperi. I am quite fond of these tree ferns and have several in my own collection. During the summer I love to display them outdoors.
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- This palette of blue and purple shows Longwood Hybrid Cineraria Pericallis x hybrida, blue poppy Meconopsis ‘Lingholm,’ and Pride-of-Madeira, Echium candicans ‘Select Blue.’
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- These are striking cape-primrose blooms, Streptocarpus ‘Grape Ice’ with deep purple blossoms, intricate veining, and pure white centers and petal edges.
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- In the Acacia Passage, one sees River Wattle, Acacia cognata, and in the containers, Guzmania ‘Hilda’ and Anthurium ‘Anthglodig’ Florida.
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- The orchid display at Longwood Gardens features at least 250 Phaleanopsis and Cattleya orchids on a wall, urns of colorful Cymbidiums in the Acacia Passage, and hundreds of Vanda orchids in the Silver Garden.
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- This display case shows Phalaenopsis Sogo Yukidian ‘V3’ and assorted x Rhyncholaeliocattleya orchids.
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- Hard to miss these hanging baskets of baby Burro’s tail Sedum, Sedum burrito, cape-primrose, and more Streptocarpus ‘Concord Blue.’
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- I have many Clivias in my greenhouse, so they catch my eye. This is Clivia miniata ‘Longwood Debutante.’
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- And this is called Tower-of-jewels, Echium wildpretii. Also known as red bugloss, this is a biennial flowering plant native to the Canary Islands. It can grow up to 10 feet tall and is admired for its rosettes of leaves and colorful flowers.
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- Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing and shaping miniature trees in containers. This is Bonsai of Camellia ‘Minato-no-haru.’ It was started in 2006.
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- And this is Bonsai of Bay Laurel, Laurus nobilis. Training on this specimen began in 2022.
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- At Longwood, there is a shop dedicated to the care and maintenance of nearly 200 bonsai trees and more than 500 artisanal planters. Longwood’s experts, visiting artists, and volunteers use special tools to prune and groom the Bonsai using a variety of techniques.
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- Copper wire is used to guide new growth and develop each tree’s design.
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- And here I am with Chad Davis, Associate Vice President of Conservatories and Jim Sutton, Associate Director of Display Design at Longwood Gardens.
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- While there I also had time for a quick bite at 1906 at Longwood Gardens, a restaurant named in honor of the year Pierre S. du Pont purchased the original grounds. The restaurant is open to Longwood Gardens visitors and offers seasonal fare with locally sourced and sustainable ingredients.
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- This is 1906 Executive Chef, George Murkowicz.
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- Among the delicious foods we enjoyed: this Pull-Apart Brioche with garden seeds, honey butter, and local sea salt.
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- This is their Little Gem Salad with green goddess herbs, artichoke, and Caesar dressing.
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- We also had the Shoestring Frites with rosemary and parmesan.
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- For dessert, we tried this Hazelnut Profiterole with caramel, cinnamon, and plum.
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- This Neapolitan includes chocolate biscotti, strawberry ice cream, and vanilla namelaka, a creamy, velvety, slightly firm style of ganache.
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- If you like donuts, you will love beignets. These were served with strawberry or peanut butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
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- This is their panna cotta with passionfruit, coconut and a scoop of mango-Lime sorbet.
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- The 1906 Lemon & Lavender includes Meyer lemon almond cake, lavender sorbet, and pavlova.
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- And this is called Carmelia – chocolate mousse, espresso caramel, and a bed of cocoa soil. It was a wonderful visit. If you’re in the area, please stop by Longwood Gardens this spring – it’s magical.
Martha Pins
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