Category Archives: Longwood Gardens

The Long View from Longwood

Longwood Gardens, tourism,

A trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania is always memorable. (Good thing, too, because it has been several weeks since we visited and I am just now getting around to writing about it.) For the uninitiated, Longwood was the home and pet project of one of those fabulously wealthy Duponts, in this case Pierre S., who had a vision to make a very grand garden for family, friends, and eventually, the masses.

Pierre had a special interest in water features, and today one of the biggest draws to Longwood Gardens is the elaborate fountains, programmed to “dance” to music. They are particularly spectacular after dark, and during the holidays.

But, since I am working on a program for the 2022 (hopefully, in person and on the National Mall) Smithsonian Folklife Festival which is all about Earth Optimism, I kept a particular eye out for stories of sustainability and interesting examples of reuse, recycling, encouraging pollinators, growing one’s own food, and all that good stuff. Longwood did not disappoint in that department.

Here, in photos (and one video) is a tour of some of the highlights of examples I noticed during our visit. Good for you, Longwood, although I am sure running a huge garden full of tourists has many unsustainable aspects as well. And, then, there is “better living through chemistry.” But, we won’t get into that right now.

Recirculating water in the waterfall. Well, I guess that’s sustainable right?
The meadow part of the Garden, which is pretty extensive, has some good pollinator information, as well as bee houses and other fun features. I liked their use of recycled wood as a display support.
Speaking of recycling, this sign was in one of the several tree houses at Longwood. It seems sort of funny that the wood came from an old toothpaste factory. Getting it all the way from Canada takes”marks off” their sustainability score I fear. (Is there a scale for sustainability? I am sure there is, or should be.)
This prodigious basil, as well as the other veggies, fruits and herbs in the “idea garden” area (which is supposed to give you ideas about how to grow things in your own garden, but really only succeeded in making me think about how much less bountiful my own garden is) has a higher purpose of supplying a local food cupboard.
Three Sister’s Garden, yay! For more info on those, you should watch our virtual Story Circle from summer of 2020.
Last but not least, the “award winning green wall” (so described by one of the greenhouse info volunteers). If more buildings had one of these, the world would be a much more sustainable place. (In between each wall is the door to a bathroom, by the way.)