Longwood Gardens

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In fall, the story at Longwood is mums.

According to Longwood’s brochure, “During the Chrysanthemum Festival, mid-October through November 23, more than 20,000 colorful, blooming chrysanthemums flourish in the palatial Conservatory.”

The showiest part of the mum display is “A Thousand Blooms.”

“A Thousand Blooms. The dramatic Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum is one of the highlights of traditional Japanese chrysanthemum exhibitions. A single plant is trained to form a perfect dome of hundreds of flowers, each the same size and blooming at the same time.”

Mums trained into domes, balls, cylinders, sheets, arches and topiaries defy gardening logic. The "single plant" thing is what blew me away. During training, the plant is allow to go limp in order to bend the branches.
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Single specimens, as well as beds of mums, colored the displays everywhere.

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In a greenhouse off the main display, signs explained the classifications of mums. Spider mum and spoon mum were two among the many gorgeous examples.

There is so much to see at Longwood. It will take another post to cover the plants that are not mums.

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(Compare Longwood Christmas display posted December 5, 2007 or enter "Longwood" in the search box at the top of this page.)
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Longwood - Service Area

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

As part of our Longwood Gardens tour, we visited the service area directly behind the Main Conservatory. (Yes, we went beyond the sign.) 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art production greenhouses produce plants used in the exquisite displays.

Huge fans keep the greenhouses cool in summer. Cool air is pulled in from the wooded area behind the greenhouses through the tan, corrugated screen shown here behind the coleus. Miles of pipes, automatic temperature and water controls, gizmos and gadgets make it a gardener’s dream. According to Longwood’s publication, “Each greenhouse is equipped with its own computerized system that automatically controls temperature, bench and perimeter heat, snow melters, and devices for cooling and shading.”

“In the mid 1950s, Longwood began a breeding program to develop new cultivars. Today, outstanding cultivars are continually being selected and regularly introduced.” More than 100 cultvars have been introduced by Longwood Gardens Research Staff – everything from Acer platanoides ‘Stand Fast’ to Wisteria frutescens ‘Longwood Purple’.

The huge greenhouses were almost pristine inside. Believe me, there was no soil or plant litter on the floor.

The greenhouses also serve as a holding area for replacement plants for the display gardens. Tables were filled with red, pink, salmon poinsettias, bright red and white cyclamen, dusty miller.

As we walked through, an intern from Ohio expertly transplanted snapdragon seedlings Antirrhinum majus ‘Appleblossom’. (Picture in bloom http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=3485053 ) They should make a beautiful display.

A long row of Velvet Groundsel - Roldana petasitis lined one of the service halls. It is considered a “pest plant” in New Zealand. (Here is a picture in bloom http://shadoadmin.arc.govt.nz/plants/plantdetails.cfm?plantcode=senpetmin.arc.govt.nz/plants/plantdetails.cfm?plantcode=senpet )

It would be fun to return to Longwood in another season to look for the plants we saw in the greenhouses.

Longwood Gardens

I visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square yesterday with the Coplay Garden Club and came home on sensory overload. http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

Pierre du Pont bought the Peirce farm in 1906 and began creating what would become Longwood Gardens. Today, extensive educational programs, plant research, performing arts programs, and displays keep visitors amazed.

After a spectacular lunch, we started in the Main Conservatory which was built in 1919 and houses 20 indoor gardens and over 5,500 plants.

An over-the-top display of pink poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Pink'), grey dusty miller (Senecio cineraria ‘Cirrus’), pink amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Vera') greeted us in the Orangery. The Main Exhibition Hall fashioned a peaceful splendor with fountain, palm trees and evergreens.

Winterberry enhanced the natural flow of the East Conservatory. The park-like setting is complete with a stream and grass and accented with red cyclamen (Cyclamencoum) and white Easter Lilies, (Lilium longiflorum).

And that was just the beginning of our tour of 4.5 acres of covered gardens. I’ll continue with more of the highlights next time.