Christmas at Longwood Gardens
A family tradition for many years, visiting Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is a feast for the senses. Colorful lights, pine scented greens and paper white floral fragrance, and pipe organ music escaping from the organ room, surround you as you enter the conservatories under glass.
Conservatories
The Conservatories are decked out with traditional Christmas flowers, like Poinsettias and Paper Whites, but non-traditional ones, like tropicals, succulents, and air plants are used throughout. There was even a Tumble Weed Tree! Suspended Christmas trees were a conversation piece (how do they water them? answer-with long poles!) and a quick look in at the original pipe organ which was being played on beautifully, was all part of our Conservatory experience.
Music Room
By far my favorite rendering of the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ was the Music Room at Longwood, completed by artist Danielle and Lee Vincent. Their Etsy shop is PreMadeReMade.
An ingenious depiction of the Christmas theme using creative book and paper embellishments with old books from library and flea market sales was captivating! Folded book art, cut paper ornaments, paper sculptures, using creased (no glue!) paper were everywhere. Trees. wreaths, garland, and ornaments were folded, cut, and embellished to carry out the theme. Taking up to 5 days to complete just one book, this imaginative display caught my interest for a long time as I examined how they masterfully re imagined a library concept for the holidays.
Lights, Camera, Action!
The expansion of lighted areas in tree houses, meadow, and fountains, gets you outdoors to explore the grounds.
The meadow especially was other worldly with lighted orbs that changed colors. Walking on a raised boardwalk made this one of the best experiences outdoors.
A few facts about the displays:
-More than 150 cut trees throughout the indoor display
– 32 miles of lights
– More than 100 outdoor trees lit
– 100 % LED lighting
– Three firepits outdoors
– Fountain shows daily in the Open Air Theater set to holiday music
-Over 3000 Poinsettias used in the displays
To get your timed tickets, go to Longwood Gardens up until January 6, 2019. And for tips on visiting, go to Ten Tips for a Day at Longwood Gardens.
It’s always a beautiful season to visit Longwood Gardens around the holidays. I was especially curious to see what they did with the meadow. I just blogged about the meadow a few weeks ago, it was our first time exploring it. So much work, thought and effort goes into the Christmas display. A great post! Thanks.
Great, I will have to read your post. Thx!
Beautiful pictures and great blog. Thanks so much. I really enjoyed seeing the lovely displays.