A Stroll Through Year-Round Splendor

What’s Happening at Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens is synonymous with botanical bliss.

Visitors will find exhibitions that range from flower arranging and one-of-a-kind fountain shows to educational opportunities and events.

“Ikebana Masterworks” (the Japanese Art of Flower Arranging) and a “Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum” exhibits headlined the fall season at Longwood Gardens, a 1,077-acre American botanical garden in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

If you visited Longwood Gardens in fall 2019, you saw two popular exhibitions: The Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum and Ikebana Masterworks.

If you didn’t get to the shows, above all, you’ll want to plan a spring trip to the gardens. Floral works of art bearing 1,542 flowers on a single stem was one of the highlights of the show that drew thousands of Chrysanthemum lovers to the gardens.

History’s Role in The Gardens

From as early as 1700, the land now called Longwood Gardens was coveted for a variety of reasons. The native Lenni Lenape tribe utilized the grounds to fish the streams, hunt for food in the surrounding forests, and plant and harvest the fields for thousands of years.

Pierre du Pont also found great beauty in the natural landscape and profoundly influenced what is now one of the United States’ most spectacular and well-known gardens. du Pont was born in 1870 and carried on the du Pont family’s long tradition of gardening.

What’s Your Idea of the Perfect Day at Longwood Gardens?

Spend a day meandering through the gardens. While you can conceivably make your way through the gardens in two to three hours, if you rush you’ll run the risk of missing a flower or plant you’ve never seen. Ideally, you should pick and choose the exhibits and gardens you want to see. In fact, the perfect day at Longwood begins with a mid-morning cup of coffee, arrival at the garden by 11 a.m., a stroll through the gardens, and lunch. You can view the dining options here.

While Longwood Gardens does not have an outdoor Japanese garden, you’ll discover a variety of plants and flowers indigenous to Japan. Undoubtedly, they’re intermingled with a variety of species from other countries along the walkways and paths.

Make your day at Longwood Gardens one that’s brimming with the sweet scent of flowers, sculpture, art, music, and culture. See a full schedule of upcoming events by following this link.

See more garden stories here.