Tickets Now on Sale for Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience and A Longwood Christmas 

Kennett Square, PA—Longwood Gardens, one of the world’s leading centers for horticultural display, announced that tickets are now on sale for Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience. Opening November 22, 2024, this extraordinary revitalization project, led by WEISS/MANFREDI in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, ushers in a new era for Longwood Gardens by enhancing the guest experience and expanding opportunities for exhibitions, programs, and events. Additionally, the Gardens’ renowned holiday spectacular, A Longwood Christmas, featuring more than half a million twinkling lights across hundreds of acres and festive fountain shows, is on view from November 22, 2024 through January 12, 2025.

Longwood Reimagined augments the public spaces of the iconic central grounds of Longwood Gardens, creating a seamless connection from east to west. This project offers a unified yet diverse journey, transitioning from lush formal gardens to expansive views over the open meadows of Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley. The largest component of Longwood Reimagined is the new 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory. Designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, with gardens and water features by Reed Hilderbrand, the conservatory will feature asymmetrical peaks rising from a pool, giving the illusion that the building floats on water. Its interior features Mediterranean-inspired gardens set amid canals and fountains, creating an exquisite tapestry-like design that seamlessly integrates the old with the new.

Paul Redman, President and CEO of Longwood Gardens, said: “As we stand on the brink of an exciting new chapter in Longwood Gardens' illustrious history, I am thrilled to welcome guests to experience Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience during our holiday season. A Longwood Christmas is always a magical time of year, and this year promises to be even more special as we invite visitors to explore new areas and 17 acres of revitalized beauty, including two new glasshouses and stunning gardens and water features.”  

In all, guests can explore three acres under glass exquisitely decorated for the holiday season with unique horticultural highlights as only Longwood can do. Guests can wander through the East Conservatory, which will be transformed into a snow globe, its delicate decorations forming a vision of snowy winter magic; or discover fantastical holiday trees seemingly floating in mid-air above the lush lawn in the historic Main Conservatory. The Music Room will feature a sweet holiday gathering, adorned in peppermint-themed finery, while the Fern Floor features a shimmering 30-foot tall tree created by Studio Roso of Denmark designed to evoke the crystalline beauty of the new West Conservatory.

New for 2024, Longwood is also launching Taste of Christmas at The Fountain Room—the perfect place to warm up, relax, and recharge. Nestled in the heart of the Gardens, The Fountain Room—newly opened as part of Longwood Reimagined—is an airy, inviting space to savor the season, offering spectacular views of the Main Fountain Garden. Guests will enjoy exclusive access to stations featuring a mix of sweet, savory, and carved-to-order selections; non-alcoholic beverages; decadent hot chocolate; and more. Special tickets are required.

Your ticket to A Longwood Christmas includes access to all of the new Longwood Reimagined spaces and can be purchased online at longwoodgardens.org. Tickets prices are $42 for adults (ages 19 and above) and $23 for youth (ages 5-18). Ages 4 and under are free.

Tickets for Taste of Christmas at The Fountain Room, which include Gardens Admission, are $178.74 for adults (ages 21+), $117.34 (ages 13-20); and $74.94 (ages 5-12); Members $136.74 (21+), $94.34 (ages 13-20), $51.94 (ages 5-12). Kids 4 and under are free.  

1906 Restaurant
As part of Longwood Reimagined, Longwood has created an exquisite new dining space for its beloved 1906 restaurant, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the iconic Main Fountain Garden. Diners will enjoy new, imaginative selections crafted with fresh, seasonal ingredients for an unparalleled dining experience. Advance reservations for 1906 open on August 27 and are strongly recommended. Additionally, The 1906 Bar & Lounge will offer tasty light bites served alongside award-winning local and international wines and beers, and complemented by timeless cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages with a garden twist. Private dining is also available for groups of up to 18 guests. The private space is nestled within the main dining room and offers an exclusive view of the 1906 culinary team at work. For more information about hours, please visit the 1906 page on the Longwood website.

About Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience
Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience will expand the public spaces of the renowned central grounds of Longwood Gardens and connect them from east to west, offering a newly unified but continually varied journey from lush formal gardens to views over the open meadows of Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley. The project originates from a master plan developed in 2010 by West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture with WEISS/MANFREDI. Longwood has continued working with WEISS/MANFREDI, as lead designer, in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand, on Longwood Reimagined, which continues the institution’s legacy of commissioning eminent designers for the creation of new gardens and glass houses. The project is managed by Bancroft Construction Company, based in Wilmington, Delaware.

In keeping with Longwood’s tradition of creating beautiful environments that feature fountains and horticultural displays, the centerpiece and largest single element of Longwood Reimagined is the creation of a new 32,000-square-foot glass house, designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand. Longwood’s Cascade Garden, the only extant design in North America by the great Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, is being relocated to an all-new, 3,800-square-foot glass house of its own, a jewel box where the tropical plantings will thrive at the heart of the conservatory ensemble. A new outdoor Bonsai Courtyard, built alongside the West Conservatory, will exhibit one of the most outstanding collections of bonsai in the country. Other elements of the Longwood Reimagined project include the construction of a new education and administration building, called The Grove, with a state-of-the-art library and classrooms; and the renewal of the beloved Waterlily Court designed by Sir Peter Shepheard (1913-2002).

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 conservatories. 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.