Spring Blooms Display on View March 30–May 5, 2024

KENNETT SQUARE, PA –Immersed in the vibrant hues, iconic blooms, and captivating scents of spring, Longwood Gardens celebrates Spring Blooms March 30-May 5, 2024. As the weather warms and the days lengthen, spring begins to emerge around the outdoor gardens, culminating in an unparalleled show of seasonal blooms. Longwood’s historic 600-footlong Flower Garden Walk flourishes with more than 150,000 tulips and other seasonal bulbs during peak bloom, expected in mid-April (weather permitting). The Spring Blooms display extends beyond the radiant show of spring bulbs and encompasses the soft pastels of flowering magnolias, cherry trees, and dogwoods. 
The season of renewal also brings with it the reopening of the redesigned Idea Garden. A refreshed layout in the Ornamental Kitchen Garden features more accessible pathways, additional seating, and new display areas.   Recently planted and expect to mature and flourish throughout the summer months, the expanded Ornamental Kitchen Garden will support the growth and production of more than 200 fruit and vegetable crops annually. 
“Kitchen gardens have a unique ability to connect guests of all ages with plants and cultivated spaces,” shares Longwood’s Associate Director of Landscape Architecture and Program Design Erin Feeney. “Their intriguingly patterned rows entice exploration; their structures showcase craft of the human hand; and their beautiful and unusual cultivars of familiar crops sustain us and display the variety of the natural world.” 
Inside the Conservatory, guests are greeted with the timeless fragrances of blooming freesias, lilies, and stock while hanging baskets of trailing jasmine infuse the surroundings with rich aromas. Seasonal favorites such as hydrangeas, pansies, and foxgloves color pathways while the exotic April blooms of Echium wildpretii ‘tower-of-jewels’ add a touch of magnificence. 
Additionally, Longwood’s Café reopens with a refreshed layout and tasty seasonal offerings. The flowering spring attractions extend into the Meadow Garden where Carolina silverbells, Eastern redbuds, flowering dogwoods, and sweet azaleas unfold with natural beauty. Grand treehouses, whimsical topiaries, and blooming woodlands add to the grace of spring at Longwood.

Spring into Learning 
The season of growth also brings new programs and learning opportunities from classes for gardening enthusiasts, to lectures, interesting reads, and more. See all events and programs at longwoodgardens.org.

• Composting 101
  April 12, 1–4 pm
  Register by April 4
  $79
  Learn the fundamentals of compost and how to start this practice yourself. Go behind-the-scenes at our Soils and Composting Facility and take home a bag of Longwood compost to help get you started.
   
• Community Read Lecture Hidcote: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
  April 16, 12-1:15 pm
  Register by April 4
  $29
  Fully Online
  Join us online to explore Hidcote Manor Garden—situated in the rolling Cotswold hills and featured in The Last Garden in England—from the comfort of home, led by Hidcote General Manager Chris Charman and Head Gardener Lottie Allen. 
   
• Science Series: Seed Science
  April 20, 1 pm
  Free with Gardens Admission
  Explore how Longwood’s conservation efforts take place in our laboratory, the fields and forests of Pennsylvania, and remote regions around the world. 
   
• Flower of the Month: Tulip
  April 24, 6–8 pm
  Register by April 14
  $109
  The Kennett Library & Resource Center
  Celebrate the clean lines and striking colors of spring’s most iconic flower by creating your own tulip-focused arrangement to display at home.
   
• Flowering Shrubs for Spring Interest
  April 27, 1–4 pm
  Register by April 21
  Maximize your spring garden and make it pop with this exploration of flowering shrubs, from identifying the best plants for your home garden to learning maintenance tips for best results.

Hours & Admission
Gardens are open Wednesday-Monday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The Gardens are closed Tuesdays. Timed admission tickets are required and timed reservations are required for Members every day throughout Spring Blooms. Tickets and reservations are available now at longwoodgardens.org.  

 

About Longwood Gardens
In 1906, industrialist Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) purchased a small farm near Kennett Square, PA, to save a collection of historic trees from being sold for lumber. Today, Longwood Gardens is one of the world’s great horticultural displays, encompassing 1,100 acres of dazzling gardens, woodlands, meadows, fountains, a 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ, and grand conservatory. Expanding on its commitment to conservation, in 2024 Longwood Gardens acquired the 505-acre Longwood at Granogue, a cultural landscape in nearby Wilmington, Delaware. Longwood Gardens is the living legacy of Pierre S. du Pont, bringing joy and inspiration to everyone through the beauty of nature, conservation, and learning. Open daily, Longwood is one of more than 30 gardens in the Philadelphia region known as America’s Garden Capital. For more information, visit longwoodgardens.org.