Longwood Chimes Issue 304

LONGWOOD CHIMES 304

Winter 2022

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No. 304

Plato said, “the beginning is the most important part of the work.” In this issue of Chimes, we share notable beginnings that have shaped our Gardens—and the larger world. From our Professional Horticulture Program, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and boasts alumni in 25 states, to the construction of our Music Room and Ballroom that marked the start of our Performing Arts program, to the artist Bruce Munro, whose 2012 US debut exhibition in our Gardens launched an impressive decade of shows around the globe, we indeed see that from humble beginnings come great things.

In Brief

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Growing Gardeners The Professional Horticulture Program celebrates 50 years.

By Lynn Schuessler

Features

And There Was Light Returning to Longwood with a new installation a decade after his American debut in our Gardens, artist Bruce Munro reflects on his beginnings … and radiates wonder.

By Katie Mobley

From a Seed All Begins …

A Longwood Fellow looks at the impetus—and growth—of her horticulture career.

By Noemí Hernández Castro

First Forms of Art Our growing collection of early plant photography inspires a new generation of artisans, designers, and plant enthusiasts.

By Judy Stevenson

Gardening Insights As the start of the gardening season approaches, our staff share some of their favorite tips.

By Abbey Gau

A Great Place to Entertain The Conservatory becomes a cultural palace with extraordinary music, elegant new spaces, and exquisite craftsmanship.

By Colvin Randall

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In Brief

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One of two large chandeliers on display in the Ballroom. The chandeliers were installed in 1930 and custom fabricated by the Voigt Company, 12th Street and Montgomery Avenue in north Philadelphia (today relocated to Garfield, northern New Jersey). Each chandelier was originally comprised of 1,250 crystals, presumably from Europe and supplied by New York importer Nelson Bead Company on 37th Street in Manhattan; Pierre du Pont purchased 144 additional prisms in 1936 from the Cassidy Company factory in Queens, New York. The chandeliers were completely restored in 1994 by the Brass Anvil Company of New Castle, Delaware.

Photo by Daniel Traub.

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Education

Growing Gardeners

The Professional Horticulture Program celebrates 50 years.

By Lynn Schuessler

Graduates came together to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Professional Horticulture Program (formerly the Professional Gardener Program).

Participants spent the day reconnecting and enjoying behind-the-scenes tours, and gathered for a photo at the East Conservatory Plaza before ending the day with a dinner in the Ballroom. Photo by Dave Shoemaker.

“I brought to Longwood my love and passion for plants … I took away the best experience of my lifetime.”

—John Enterline, class of 1973

On October 16, 2021, amid bites of breakfast and how-have-you-beens in the Longwood Ballroom, a running slideshow recounted the hard work and hijinks of the 327 students from 34 classes who had graduated from Longwood’s Professional Horticulture Program over its 50-year history.

Close to 100 of those slideshow stars—now a few years to a half-century wiser—reflected on the 50th anniversary opening remarks of President of the Professional Gardener Alumni Association (PGAA) David Mattern. What Mattern saw in the audience that morning was generation upon generation of horticultural know-how, and he urged them to share it—“Let’s learn from each other!”

And so they changed tables and broke out of comfort zones, blurring the boundaries of class year and expertise to swap lessons learned and debate industry trends. One veteran gardener, in particular, seemed to own the room with his amiable presence.

With a background in commercial landscaping, Dave Foresman was used to tilling soil. But when he joined Longwood in 1967 as assistant to then Education

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Division Supervisor Lois Paul, his career took a turn toward tilling souls instead of soil.

With Paul’s guidance and the support of “Director-with-a-mission” Russell Seibert, Foresman searched existing gardener schools for the seeds of a program that would fulfill Pierre S. du Pont’s wishes to combine academics with a hands-on experience for aspiring gardeners.

Six trainees selected from 50 applicants initiated the 20-month, tuition-free Professional Gardener Training Program on July 13, 1970. Randy Zerr, six weeks out of Milton Hershey School when he started, was one of four to first complete the program in 1972. “How fortunate I was to be a student at a world-class garden,” he says, a “life-changing” sentiment echoed by countless alumni.

Foresman proudly believes that the strength of the program lies in Longwood’s reputation, resources, and expert staff— from facilities to horticulture, in the field and in the greenhouses. He reminisces that some gardeners, like tough WW II veteran and expert begonia grower Gerry

de Stoppelaar, were at first reluctant to take on students … but later became upset if Foresman didn’t assign them a student.

Through a shared passion for horticulture, the program grew.

The first woman, Beatrice Broughton, graduated in 1974; by 1975, nearly half the applicants were women. In 1977, as grads entered the industry, the PGAA sprouted “as a communication link between alumni and Longwood,” explains Les Lutz, its first president. “We eventually developed Today’s Horticulture, an annual symposium to disseminate knowledge to our group as well as the public.”

The Middle States Association accredited the PG program in 1997, recognizing its high quality and standards. Since 2000— the year Foresman retired after 30 years as coordinator—the program has articulated with regional colleges and universities so graduates can transfer their two years of learning at Longwood toward a related degree.

In 2019, the Professional Gardener Program was reimagined as the Professional Horticulture Program, giving students a

greater ability to tailor the program to fit their needs.

“It’s a legacy program with strong foundational principles—including handson learning from expert horticulturists and high-level coursework—that are as impactful today as they were 50 years ago,” says Director, Domestic & International Studies Crystal Huff. “But to continue to be a leader in training professional horticulturists, we need to evolve with the changing world.”

“People are reevaluating their lives due to climate change and the pandemic … they’re more interested in nature … and they’re looking to make a difference,” Huff says about trends she’s noticed in applicants’ essays.

Among the 10 students in the current cohort are two career changers, two recent high school grads, and a range of backgrounds in between. Alex Hobson worked on infrastructure construction in New York City before joining the class of 2023 last August, and hopes to apply “horticulture as infrastructure” to combat twenty-first-century crises like storm surge

and drought. Ben Helde joined the program just out of high school, but brings with him the rich experience of place–the climate, plant palette, and garden practices of the Pacific Northwest.

Nancy Agnew, who has taught in the program for 25 years, embraces the opportunity of “serving a group of individuals that come to my classroom with diverse identities and attitudes, understanding their needs, and adapting each class to create a learning environment suitable for all.”

“Education is changing. No more ‘sage on a stage’,” says Huff, referring to lecture-driven classes. “Instructors are finding ways for students to own their learning. Instead of a lecture on plant pests, instructors now ask students to present a plant pest to the class, providing the opportunity to practice important soft skills—collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.”

The 50th anniversary event celebrated not only a flagship program, but the people who are the program—every student focused on a meaningful future,

every gardener gratified to work alongside a student, every alum bringing fresh perspectives to the green industry.

Foresman is devoted still, connecting new grads with fulfilling careers. “Mr. du Pont would be happy to know the impact this program has had,” he says.

Tasked with carrying the program into the future, Huff’s challenge and vision is to continue the immersive nature of the program, while reaching out to more people—perhaps through technology—around the world.

The power of the Professional Horticulture Program is evidenced by the fact that “100% of our students go on to further training or employment after graduating,” says Vice President, Engagement and Learning Sarah Masterton.

“And yet the impact is not confined to individuals —although this is lifechanging—but ripples out across the industry, as our alumni share knowledge and skills and make a difference where they work and with whom they engage, changing the future of horticulture for today and tomorrow.”

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Professional Horticulture Program 50th Anniversary Celebration

“The Longwood Way is deeply ingrained in everything I do — correctly, safely, with excellence.”

—Danilo Maffei, class of 1996

“Dave Foresman had faith in me when I had no faith in myself, and now I have my own landscaping and tree business. Find your passion and go with it.”

—Michael Morgan, class of 1988

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“An incredible program in terms of classroom education, hands-on skill development, and networking in just about all areas of horticulture.”

Photos by Bob Doerr, William Hill, and Dave Shoemaker.

—Mary Allinson, class of 1982

“This program invites you into a diverse alumni that are globally known and always willing to assist you … it opens endless possibilities.”

—Joshua Dunham, class of 2018

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Education

From a Seed, All Begins …

A Longwood Fellow looks at the impetus—and growth—of her horticulture career.

By Noemí Hernández Castro

Most plants begin their life cycle as a seed, containing an embryo with the necessary food and protected by an outer coating.

As a student going through college, I was the seed—absorbing and fed by knowledge and teachings that served as both the nutrients and shelter to help me grow and eventually thrive in my professional career.

Many seeds need a period of dormancy, others have a short viability, and most will need help from environmental factors or animals to thrive. But once the conditions are right the seed will germinate. My sprouting moment was making my way after college to my first job, working as a plant propagation technician in the Botanical Garden of the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University in Mexico.

Still, a seed’s work is not done until the seedling becomes capable of surviving by itself. I started proving my skills and abilities to thrive while working with green roofs and walls, propagating cacti and succulents, and later all sorts of native plants from herbaceous and shrubs to creepers and trees. This was the start of my root working system, as I realized that horticultural work could be my anchor,

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my source of nutrients, and my means of absorption to be used later.

Sometimes a seedling needs a nurse plant, environmental factors, and a little bit of luck to thrive. All these things I found while growing in the Botanical Garden, surrounded with a marvelous team, and the national collection of Cactaceae and Crassulaceae plants that will never stop amazing me. From registering five hybrids with the title of breeder; publishing a guide for technical and varietal description; to getting involved in evaluating committees, symposia, and congresses, some of my projects grew from buds to branches filled with leaves.

A trophic chain of connections amongst a previous Fellow, a Longwood staff member, and the former director of the Botanical Garden in Mexico City transplanted me to the magnificent Longwood Gardens, into the rich soil of the Fellows program. This immersive experience for emerging leaders has given me insight into strategic planning, project management, team dynamics, self-awareness, and the many aspects of nonprofit governance—a nourishment of topics that I had not been exposed to before.

In nature, and in life, adversity is almost necessary to succeed. If there is something we learned during the past year it is that nothing goes as planned. The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic changed the course of everything, but every time a challenge arrives, I remember what Darwin observed: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.”

Even for a plant with deep roots, change is a constant part of growth.

Sometimes beginnings are the closure for another process, an indicator of all the changes you need to go through, a moment of realization. This is the moment to add to what you have taken.

The strategy that each organism uses to succeed varies, but in the ecosystem of the working world, I have learned the importance of recognizing and celebrating beginnings, having a strong root system, adapting to change, and being able to transform challenges into sources of nourishment. This is my strategy to stay true to fulfilling my niche in the public horticulture industry, working with living collections, and connecting people through plants.

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Horticulture

Gardening Insights As the start of the gardening season approaches, our staff share some of their favorite tips.

By Abbey Gau Photos by Daniel Traub

From the millions of geophytes across our landscape that break through the earth heralding the start of the season, to the vibrant blooms that help us shake off the winter blues, spring is undoubtedly a time of renewal and new beginnings. Like most things, though, a beautiful spring requires forethought and planning before the season, and all of its splendor, arrives.

At Longwood, our culture is one of planning … and our horticulturists are not only experts in the field, but also experts in thoughtfully preparing for the seasons to come, all while working with living, breathing things that can sometimes have an agenda all their own. This time of year, our horticulturists make use of the quieter winter months to get a jump start on spring … and so can you, with these tips from a few of our experts.

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Make Way for Spring

by Sprucing Up Your Garden Beds A fresh start is good for everyone … including your garden. Start with a general tidying up to give your garden the best possible springboard for the spring season. “Clear out last season’s debris,” advises Senior Horticulturist Lauren Hill. “Start with a clean, fresh slate by cutting back your perennials that may have been left through the winter for architectural interest.”

“Creating something with my hands is very fulfilling for me,” says Hill.

“It feels grounding.”

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Use the Right Plant in the Right Place When planning your plantings, you may want to choose a plant just for its looks. However, you should also make sure the plant is well-suited for your garden’s conditions and your growing zone, so the plant will stay beautiful (and happy) in your space. “If you choose a plant that is suited to your climate, then it should not require extra time and resources caring for it and you end up with a healthier plant,” says Senior Horticulturist Jessica Whitehead.

New to gardening? Whitehead suggests keeping it small and manageable.

“Gardening at home should bring you enjoyment; it shouldn’t feel like a chore,” she shares.

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Divide and Conquer When It Comes to Perennials As winter temperatures start to wane and the conditions start to warm up, edit or divide your non-spring-flowering perennials for optimal spring and summer success. Outdoor Landscape Manager Roger Davis shares: “Cut the tops back to the ground and use a shovel to divide the crown. You can move your extra divisions elsewhere in the garden or share with a friend.”

To Prune or Not to Prune?

“Developmental and rejuvenative pruning of shrubs and young trees can be done in winter while you are able to clearly see the branch structure of the plant without leaves,” says Davis.

“I love to watch the garden grow and evolve over the season,” says Davis. “I love the physical nature of gardening. The hard work helps me sleep well at night.”

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It’s Not Too Early to Start Thinking About Seed Orders

Mulch Early to Weed Less Often

Staff spend the winter months perusing a variety of seed catalogs in preparation for the upcoming gardening season.

Some of their favorite catalogs include: Select Seeds (Union, CT); Park Seed (Greenwood, SC); Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Mansfield, MO); Johnny’s Selected Seeds (Winslow, ME); Rohrer Seeds (Lancaster, PA); and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (Mineral, VA).

West Conservatory Manager Matthew Peterson recommends applying mulch long before bulbs break through the soil, as it “makes applying the mulch easier and gives you a head start on maintaining the weeds.”

Add organic matter to replace nutrients lost during the previous summer’s growth. Whitehead recommends raking up any big piles of tree leaves in March and using those partially decomposed leaves as mulch. “I try to get a good 2 to 3 inches of coverage because they will break down and blow away as the season progresses.”

“A word to the wise—leave those spring-flowering shrubs alone until after they flower in the spring,” says West Conservatory Manager Matthew Peterson.

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Enjoy the Process While gardening does require some forethought and planning, there’s beauty in the process.

Depending on what you choose to grow, there will be seasons to plant and seasons to harvest.

This season, perhaps above all others, is a time to embrace the possibilities of both the present and the future. Winter brings forth the fine details of the garden, and it presents the opportunity to further build upon the bones of your landscape … in preparation for even more beauty, yet to spring forth.

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Features

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Detail view of one of six large glass chandeliers that were suspended above the lawn of the Orangery during the inaugural run of Light: Installations by Bruce Munro, 2012. The chandeliers were designed to change color in unison, adding drama to the Orangery’s already artful horticultural display. Photo

by Hank Davis.

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The Arts

And There Was Light

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Returning to Longwood with a new installation a decade after his American debut in our Gardens, artist Bruce Munro reflects on his beginnings … and radiates wonder.

By Katie Mobley

View of Field of Light, 2012. This installation was composed of 15,000 frosted glass spheres that appeared to grow organically on the far bank of the Small Lake. Reflecting both the installation and the site’s naturalistic, park-like landscape, the water served to extend the scale of the artwork. Photo by Hank Davis.

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One of the most intriguing aspects of Longwood is the dynamic interplay between our Gardens and those who visit us. Here, we encourage our guests to not only look at the beauty around them, but to truly experience it … breathe it in, look inward (as well as outward), and truly see the landscape and their relationship with it.

Next summer, the interplay between our landscape and those who experience it will be taken to a dazzling new level when artist Bruce Munro returns to Longwood a decade after making his American debut here in our Gardens. Spanning eight installations throughout our indoor spaces and outdoor vistas, this summer’s all-new Light: Installations by Bruce Munro will not only transform our landscapes and captivate all who experience it … but will also mark the brilliant return of this imaginative artist whom we are thrilled to once again welcome to our Gardens.

In the summer of 2012, by way of thousands of radiant lights, fiber optics, blown glass, and repurposed materials, Munro illuminated Longwood with Light, enabling and inspiring guests to experience a fantastical twilight garden. Munro’s creativity and ingenuity, interwoven with the natural beauty and mystery of Longwood’s nighttime landscape, proved 22

wondrous for the more than 325,000 guests who experienced it. Our guests found themselves immersed in and fascinated by Munro’s work and his inspiration… as did we.

Best known for his immersive, largescale, light-based installations, British artist Munro is inspired largely by his interest in shared human experience.

For the last 40 years, Munro has kept sketchbook journals to record moments and memories of feeling at one with the world … many of which have been expressed by light. In his early forties, Munro “decided to bring to fruition ideas and experiences that were buried in my sketchbooks”—and, inspired by light while working in Australia as a research and development designer after graduating with a degree in fine art, it felt only natural to express them through light as a medium. His subject matter?

“Our experiences of being connected to the world in its largest sense, of being part of an essential matter.”

Munro’s work with light and repurposed materials, which he is exceptionally passionate about using in his pieces, brought him to Longwood a decade ago … and since his debut exhibition in our Gardens, he has wowed

To Munro “creating art is a privilege,” and the most important lesson to remember is that “every project requires a carefully tailored approach.”

audiences the world over. With solo exhibitions from Hokkaido to Gothenberg, commissions from London to Paris, and museum collections from Saratoga to Oxford, his art has evolved with each exhibition. To Munro “creating art is a privilege,” and the most important lesson to remember is that “every project requires a carefully tailored approach.” While his inspiration for his work continues to be closely aligned to the natural evolution of everyday life, his current focus is on the “flow and interpretation of time and place,” in which he endeavors to “find a language to express this notion.”

We eagerly await to immerse ourselves in Munro’s world, expressed in our nighttime Gardens, as he returns to Longwood for this summer’s Light. On view Thursday through Sunday evenings June 30 through October 30, Light, comprised of eight new installations, will bring new dimensions to beloved Longwood spaces.

One such installation, Field of Light —a guest favorite in 2012—has found many forms and homes throughout Munro’s career. The installation began in 2004 with its first creation behind his home in rural Wiltshire … to here at Longwood in 2012 when 15,000 individually sculpted stems beckoned guests toward its enchanting

glow … to 2016, when Munro exhibited the artwork in Ulura, Australia, where he was first inspired to create the piece after a 1992 camping trip across Australia’s Red Centre.

“For each iteration,” Munro shares, “the piece begins at its original starting point, for the landscape it inhabits defines the work. Over time, it has stretched across fields, along water and through forested land, in urban squares, on building roofs, and over rocky buttes.” We can’t wait to see its latest iteration when a staggering 18,000 illuminated bulbs adorn the landscapes amid our Large and Small Lakes this summer.

In addition to Field of Light, Light will transform our expansive Orchard, our serene Pear-Shaped Basin, and our iconic Conservatory Exhibition Hall, among many other spaces. Along the way, guests will find a monumental geodesic sphere fashioned with 1,820 bottles; a sparkling oasis of colorful reflections inspired by the waterlily; and imaginative installations that incorporate the use of not only light, but also sound. Interwoven through it all will be Munro’s trademark appreciation for the landscape; his unending fascination with time and place; and a new, alluring expression of Longwood’s nighttime experience … illuminated by wonder, by radiance, by magic.

Above: Bruce Munro visited Longwood in early December 2021, to confirm and scout final locations for the upcoming exhibition Light: Installations by Bruce Munro.

Munro was accompanied by Longwood team members, including Senior Electronics Technician Robert Densten; Associate Director, Interpretation & Exhibitions Dottie Miles; Associate Director, Landscape Architecture and Program Design Erin Feeney; and Lead Electrician Benny Rigoroso.

Photos by Daniel Traub.

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A Look Back Light: Installations

by Bruce Munro 2012 Photos by Hank Davis

Right: Floating serenely in the Large Lake, Waterlilies was a tribute to the platter-like Victoria waterlily that the Gardens first hybridized in 1961. Comprised of foam discs topped with thousands of recycled CDs, the installation mirrors the ever-changing hues of the surrounding landscape.

Below: Snowballs on display in the Orangery.

Opposite: Detail view of Field of Light.

Bottom: Water Towers, located in the Meadow Garden, was comprised of 69 structures built out of one-liter recyclable plastic bottles filled with water, laser-cut wood layers, and fiber optics

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connected to an LED projector and sound system. The installation beckoned visitors to immerse themselves in the spaces between the towers to explore the spectacle of light and sound.

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The Arts

FIRST FORMS of ART Our growing collection of early plant photography inspires a new generation of artisans, designers, and plant enthusiasts.

By Judy Stevenson

Photos by David Ward

Originally trained as a sculptor, German photographer and design lecturer Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) was fascinated by the architectural qualities of plants, especially when viewed under magnification. Seeking to teach his students to draw inspiration from the forms and patterns of the natural world, Blossfeldt photographed flowers, stems, leaves, and seeds against a neutral background using a modified camera to capture astonishingly detailed plant portraits.

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Plants and photography share a long intertwined history. In the fledgling years of photography following its invention in 1839, plants and flowers were among the earliest subjects favored by photographers.

Long exposure times, ranging from many minutes to even hours, and the bright summer sunlight needed to capture camera images prior to the invention of the electric light bulb, meant that flowers or branches clipped directly from a nearby garden made ideal subjects, both beautiful and convenient.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Longwood and photography also share a long history; our founder, Pierre S. du Pont, commissioned photography of the Gardens from very early in their development, and, in the 1930s, hired Gottlieb Hampfler, who would become Longwood’s staff photographer for the next four decades. Longwood’s Library and Archives holds thousands of photographs

by Hampfler and others, and recently has begun to develop a research collection of rare 19th- and early 20th-century plant photographs by world-renowned photographers.

Clockwise from top left: First Forms of Art by Karl Blossfeldt, circa 1930; Flowers from Nature: Photographs by Adolphe Braun, privately bound, circa 1854; Encyclopédie Artistique et Documentaire de la Plante edited by Maurice Verneuil, 1904 –1908; portfolio of photographs by Karl Blossfeldt, late 20thcentury prints from original negatives; Encyclopédie

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Florale by Pierre Plauszewski, circa 1900. In each of these works, the photographers’ original intent was to simply capture natural forms to serve as models for artists working in the decorative arts. However, the fine eye and technical skill of each of these photographers elevates their images on a par with fine art, and their photographs feel fresh and inspiring even today.

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In 1928, Karl Blossfeldt published a book of his plant photographs titled Urformen der Kunst (translated to Art Forms in the Plant World in English editions). Intended to be a pattern book for designers and the applied arts, Urformen der Kunst struck a chord with artists and art lovers, becoming an international bestseller and securing Blossfeldt’s legacy as a founder of the German modernist photography movement.

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Adolphe Braun (1812–1877) began his career in 1830s Paris as a designer of printed textiles. An early adopter of photography, Braun quickly saw the value in capturing images of the lush bounty of spring and summer flowers in photographs that could be used year-round to sketch textile designs. Printed on thin albumen-coated papers, Braun’s photographs were often tacked to the walls of his studio, and as a result, few of his flower photos survive in good condition.

Longwood was fortunate to acquire this bound volume of Braun photographs, which are in exceptionally good condition thanks to the protection of the binding.

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Developments in photographic printing and reproduction in the 19th century made it possible for photographers to share their works with

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an ever-widening audience.

Photomechanical printing processes, such as the collotype used here in Pierre Plauszewski’s Encyclopédie Florale,

transferred photographic images to printing plates, which could then be inked and printed using a printing press. Images printed in this manner are just as

detailed and beautiful as chemically developed photographs, but are easier to mass-produce and less subject to fading than most photographic processes.

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A Century of Floral Sun Parlors: Part Five

A Great Place to Entertain The Conservatory becomes a cultural palace with extraordinary music, elegant new spaces, and exquisite craftsmanship.

By Colvin Randall

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The opening of Longwood’s great Conservatory in November 1921 ushered in a new era of welcoming family and friends as well as the rest of the nation to what was quickly becoming an American showplace. Pierre du Pont disliked publicity, but the Gardens received plenty. Even before the Conservatory opened, crowds were coming to visit outdoors, so much so that Longwood was open to the public 11 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday but only on the first and third Sundays of the month; the other Sundays were reserved for the du Ponts and their guests.

Admission was free on weekdays but, beginning on Sunday, June 19, 1921, 25 cents on weekends and holidays, with all fees donated to two West Chester and three Wilmington hospitals (which the guests could specify—an administrative nightmare that was quickly changed by just dividing proceeds equally). Typical attendance on public Sundays was soon 1,000 but could go as high as 2,800. But a tidal wave of 4,264 visitors on Sunday, June 21, 1925, convinced Pierre to raise weekend admission to 50 cents starting Saturday, June 27, which, however, did not discourage attendance.

A year later, a record 5,699 visitors came that equivalent Sunday.

The tradition of concerts outdoors in the Open Air Theatre could now be moved indoors in cold weather. The Exhibition Hall was designed to double as an auditorium with a 3,650-pipe Aeolian organ in its northeast corner. The first Longwood Organ was played in 1921 using paper rolls—there is no record of an organist giving a live concert that year, although it is likely that a few musicians tried it out. In January 1922, Pierre asked Mrs. Edward P. Linch, a favored organist at Edward Sotesbury’s palatial 147-room Whitemarsh Hall, for concert suggestions.

Linch had grandiose visions of opera stars from the Met capped by The Philadelphia Orchestra for musicales “that exceed in beauty and brilliancy anything ever given in this country”— and cost. Pierre let her down gently, writing “I fear that the program suggested by you is too elaborate for a start.” Alice du Pont had the idea for a series of hour-long organ recitals during Lent, but Pierre noted, “The recital should be appropriate to public performance, i.e. not restricted to musicians or those first in the art of music.” He preferred to have the music “for two to two and a half hours in an informal way and to give prominence to more or less popular music…which appeals

to the average hearer.” Alice suggested that on alternate weeks the concerts be open to the public and, on “closed” Sundays, open to 100 to 150 invited guests holding admission cards, an idea that was soon routine.

Mabel Linch gave the first Longwood recitals on February 12 and 18, 1922. She played six times at Longwood that year, but the du Ponts wanted to hear what others could do, too. Frank McHugh, Pierre’s financial secretary, and then Titus Geesey, Pierre’s personal secretary, were charged with finding and scheduling a variety of organists, mostly from eastern Pennsylvania, Wilmington, and New York City. Some they had heard at local movie theatres. From 1922 to 1929, there were about 400 two-hour Sunday organ recitals performed by 43 organists, of whom Firmin Swinnen (1885–1972) towered above the rest. He became Longwood’s resident organist in 1924. Also appearing were such organ luminaries as Lynnwood Farnam, Charles Courboin, and Marcel Dupré, to mention just a few. A walnut Steinway concert grand piano costing $3,100 was purchased in 1923 to expand the musical capabilities, and it is still in use today.

Opposite: Details of the Music Room ceiling, enhanced with color in 1927, renewed a couple times over the decades, and completely restored (with major replication) in 2004–2005 at a cost of $46,000 for plasterwork

by A. Thayer Smith III Inc. of Downingtown, PA, and about $10,000 for painting

by Albert Michaels from Harrisburg, PA. Photos by Larry Albee.

Right: Parked cars lined the county’s public Doe Run Road (today Paulownia Drive), likely on a Sunday in the early 1920s. The Conservatory is out of sight in the distance to the left. The path to the right with posts is today’s southern edge of the Cow Lot leading to the Flower Garden Drive.

An attempt was made to limit

parking to 300 spaces west of the Conservatory beginning in summer 1924, thus keeping this road open for two-way traffic, but a 1927 springtime aerial photo shows almost as many cars parked along this road. Doe Run Road was closed in 1929 to traffic, which was rerouted to the new Conservatory Road.

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Organ concerts were soon joined in 1922 by other indoor musical events, including the United States Marine Band and John Philip Sousa and His Band. From 1922 through 1929, there were at least 23 vocal and instrumental concerts indoors (five were benefits), and 23 military band concerts (21 were benefits, and two of those were outdoors) attracting thousands of concertgoers. A detailed history of all these events is the subject of a forthcoming book, Garden of Music.

In late 1922, Pierre decided to proceed with the original concept for a “casino” lounge at the north end of the Exhibition Hall, which had been contemplated as early as 1916 or 1917 with designer Ferruccio Vitale. Pierre no doubt recognized that there was no private space for family and friends to gather when the public was present, nor a room that could be heated more comfortably in winter compared to the relatively cool greenhouses. He again asked J. Walter Cope to do the design, based on Cope’s success with completing the Conservatory.

The three-story (plus attic) Music Room with adjoining service rooms was constructed in 1923 to 1924 at a cost, with furnishings, of $231,678 (equivalent to $3.72 million in 2022). J. Walter Cope was paid $8,800 as architect and William

Left: The Aeolian organ console (with Wilmington organist Wilmer Highfield) was positioned on the west side of the Exhibition Hall, between the last pair of columns nearest the stage, c. 1922.

Right: The pipes were on the east side, visible in the photo at the far upper right before decorative curtains were added, c. 1921. The organ chamber was replaced in 1929–1930 by the much larger Ballroom.

Left: Sousa and His Band on the Exhibition Hall stage, June 24, 1924, in front of the new Music Room.

Opposite: “Cross Section Looking East” of the Music Room by J. Walter Cope, February 24, 1923. The Exhibition Hall is to the right; an outdoor terrace and delivery tunnel underneath are to the left.

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Francis was the contractor, having left Pierre’s employ as Chief Engineer to form his own construction company. Major expenses included $5,810 for structural steel, $58,139 for the bronze windows, doors, and grilles, $25,477 for interior walnut woodwork, $19,500 for stucco and concrete finishing

by John J. Earley to match the Conservatory, $9,936 for tile, marble, and terrazzo work, $12,000 for plumbing and heating, and $2,249 for a teak floor from S. W. Heaton.

There was even a $192 dumb waiter elevator that came up from the basement. As usual, every detail down to fabrics and furnishings was personally chosen by Pierre du Pont, with input from Alice.

Paul Belin (1875–1930), Alice’s brother who had studied architecture in college, offered a rare criticism (something only a relative could do) of Longwood’s décor when he wrote in 1924: “Your new room is a beautiful room, but there is something about the cornice that certainly hits you right in the eye.” He goes on to mention the white cornice not blending with the dark columns and other details related to color but concludes, “I hope my criticism will not offend you. It is rather nervy of me to say anything…. [but] the room itself …was a wonderful room. The great beauty is that you get no idea of the size, because it is such good proportion.”

Pierre responded, “Many thanks for your criticisms … I am not an architect and possibly do not appreciate architectural conventions, but I do agree with you that the cornice of our room should be in color substantially as dark as the wood-work, in my opinion, but not necessarily in the same color. I concur with your old professor in liking plain ceilings, but I think this one high enough to stand decoration, but I am not sure that I would like the present ceiling much toned down on account of its use for [indirect] lighting purposes. The architect planned that the figures in the ceiling should be brought out in color. I am inclined to think he is right, but Alice and I thought best to see the room entirely finished before deciding so important a question. I forgot to mention one thing in connection with the ceiling, i.e., plasterers about here are slow, charge a great deal, and their work is very unsatisfactory. I, therefore, did away with [the] plaster [ceiling] entirely in this new room substituting composition board, which is not sufficiently smooth to permit of a plain ceiling, hence some of the decoration which might otherwise have been eliminated.”

Thus the flat ceiling and the curved cove bordering it were made of Agasote and the side walls lined with Homasote, versatile fiberboard products. The applied ornamentation was composition molding,

a combination of chalk, glue, resin, and linseed oil and was apparently subcontracted to the Jacobson Mantel and Ornament Company, New York City, who advertised “compo ornaments for woodwork.” One wonders if all the individual elements were designed by Cope (full-size drawings exist) or if some were chosen by him from a catalog—probably mostly the former.

Finally, in mid January to mid February 1927 the Chapman Decorative Company of Philadelphia stained the cornice to match the existing walnut woodwork, gilded parts of the cornice and capitals with metal leaf, replaced about 30 feet of molding and some ornaments that were loose or had fallen off, painted the ceiling, and added a touch of delicate color here and there, for $1,189.

Increasingly during the 1920s, Pierre and Alice du Pont received requests from both performers and from sponsors who wished to use the Exhibition Hall for concerts and events with seated audiences on the floor and in the surrounding aisles for up to 800 guests. “So many applications come in that it is impossible to hear them all, so that we have tried to restrict ourselves to professional entertainments and the larger amateur organizations,” wrote Pierre in 1925.

However, the Exhibition Hall was also designed for plants, and in the end the plants won. Huge horticultural displays filled the

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Left: The 50 by 46 by 46-foot-high Music Room is shown here in 1924 prior to hanging the drapes and adding more furniture. The Exhibition Hall stage is through the sliding pocket doors and windows to the left. The organ console (center left) and adjacent roll player, both with new cabinetry, were moved in from the Exhibition Hall; the paper organ rolls are stored and visible in the cabinets behind. The woodwork for the Music Room, console, and connected hallway was designed by architect Cope and built by the American Car & Foundry Company of Wilmington at a cost of $25,477 (about $405,000 today). This photo shows the white cornice and ceiling before color was added.

Below: View of the Music Room looking east, 1928. The fabric-covered wall panels were green (today rose-pink), the walnut woodwork brown. Under the slipcovers, some of the chairs were upholstered in green velvet, others in ruby. Presumably large oriental rugs covered the teak floor only during winter.

Right: The Music Room in 1928, looking south with summer curtains hung. The organ console is behind the sofa to the right. The Steinway concert grand piano is to the left, in front of the wall with an elaborate bronze grille ($2,646 from the William Jackson Company of Brooklyn) backed by a fabriccovered opening behind (brown silk) and above (green), hiding the organ pipes located just on the other side. A few chairs are behind the organ console, but it might have been intimidating for most organists if the du Ponts sat there! It was here that Marcel Dupré performed in 1924 and 1925.

floor, especially azaleas during late winter through May. There was no easy way to remove the flower-laden specimens temporarily. Summer and fall were more suitable for performances, when the azaleas were stored elsewhere and the Exhibition Hall was relatively empty. But in 1926 Pierre began to contemplate a much larger indoor theatre east of the Exhibition Hall. This would evolve into two grand spaces and a new, enormous pipe organ.

In January 1926, Pierre du Pont commissioned Wilmington architect E. William Martin (1891–1977) to design the next major addition to Longwood.

Martin was born in Scotland but his family moved to Delaware when he was a child.

He attended Wilmington High School and graduated from Delaware College in 1916 with a B.S. in arts and science. In 1917, Samuel Mitchell, the university’s president, wrote glowingly that “In sheer culture and effectiveness he has not been 40

surpassed by any student in this College for decades.” Martin took some architecture classes at the University of Pennsylvania then attended the University of Liverpool in England, earning a degree in architecture in 1922. He spent the summers of 1921 in France and 1922 in Italy. He returned to Philadelphia that year and worked for first one then another firm. In 1926, he set up his own office in Wilmington in the DuPont Building. He soon was working on projects with William Francis, whose new construction company did Longwood’s major building projects. Both men were active Delaware College alumni, so probably through Francis, Martin had a fortunate “in” with Pierre du Pont, as well as all three sharing the same downtown office building.

Martin would become one of Delaware’s most prominent architects, largely because of the many civic commissions, especially schools, he won with Pierre’s support.

Pierre asked his new architect to design

a greenhouse theatre extending eastward from the Exhibition Hall. Martin devised at least 16 layouts, and the final scheme proposed in April 1927 was similar to the Exhibition Hall but twice as large. A glassroofed auditorium would hold 1,106 folding chairs on curving, banked tiers, descending east towards a pool which, drained, could serve as an orchestra pit. A 36-foot-wide draw curtain would stand in front of a 62-foot-wide stage. In the northwest corner, the existing 22 by 29-foot organ chamber (the organ had been improved in 1923 and 1926) would be rebuilt a few feet north and expanded eastward to 50 feet. Four openings filled with ornamental wooden spindles would form a decorative grille in front of the pipes, which would sound into both the Exhibition Hall and the new building.

Pierre decided not to build this greenhouse auditorium, probably because it was not a practical use for such a large space, requiring even more moving of chairs,

J. Walter Cope did a detailed pencil drawing of the elaborate ceiling decoration.

It recalls the elegant 18th-

century neoclassical designs of the celebrated Adam family from Scotland. Drawing gift of Louise and Walter E. Cope.

if not plants, than in the Exhibition Hall.

He had also just finished rebuilding the Open Air Theatre—how many theatres does a private estate need? Instead, plans were finalized for an Azalea House designed by Martin primarily to house non-hardy azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias. The building, with a ridgeand-furrow roof, was finished by April 1928 at a cost of $291,444, including $31,096 for more of John Earley’s concrete aggregate finishes. By 1930 the permanent investment totaled $313,609 (about $5.4 million in 2022).

Pierre then decided in late 1928 to commission a much larger Aeolian organ as well as a new concert hall to house it on the north side of the Azalea House. The first Aeolian was subject to temperature shifts from the humid Exhibition Hall as well as from two exterior hollow-tile walls. The new organ, designed by Firmin Swinnen with 10,010 pipes and costing $124,450, would be nestled within the Ballroom, surrounded by hallways to minimize temperature change. Pierre again

Above: The Exhibition Hall in the early months of 1924 was filled to overflowing with azaleas, precluding seated audiences on the floor.

Above: E. William Martin, c. 1933.

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chose E. William Martin to design the building. The interior décor might be labeled industrial-strength Georgian, with pilasters, columns, and pediments, but also with a translucent pink glass ceiling surmounted by a greenhouse roof above.

Pierre wanted to rush construction of the organ chamber, leaving the surrounding building to be finished later.

But when he found out that the main hall would be the storage and assembly area for the instrument, that room, too, would have to be sufficiently completed.

Construction began in mid May 1929 before the interior finish had even been planned. In June 1929, the William M. Francis Company noted that the only feasible building procedure to meet Pierre’s wishes was to build a dust-proof partition between the old organ chamber and the new building. Once the original organ was removed, they would carefully demolish that area and then rebuild it as part of the Ballroom, a complicated process that would take until spring 1930. Dismantling of the original organ began in September 1929;

after renovation, it was installed at the University of Delaware in newly constructed Mitchell Hall.

By late 1929, change orders to the building included adding a third story of service rooms (called the “Hall of Records” by 1938), an ornamental plaster finish, a walnut floor, and changing the basement storage room into a kitchen. Expenses included $3,097 for marble trim, $7,390 for decorative iron radiator grilles, $18,331 for exterior Earley concrete finishes, and $32,580 for bronze-framed windows and doors. The walnut floor was installed by L. H. Wood & Company, Philadelphia, for $8,260. The building was largely finished by July 1930 and cost $477,812 including $10,685 for chandeliers and $28,556 for the pink etched glass ceiling. The ceiling took four additional months to install and was finished by November 1931. Architect E. William Martin was paid $24,000 and mechanical engineer Robert P. Schoenijahn received $3,700.

By 1931, the permanent investment in the Ballroom and organ was calculated to be $600,890 (about $11.4 million in 2022).

Prominent furniture manufacturer T. D. Wadelton of New York supplied 16 panels for the organ tonal openings (plus for tonal openings into the Music Room and additional panels covering the solid walls) of green-dyed, waterproofed silk grenadine for $4,072. Pierre ordered nearly 50 pairs of curtains for $17,656 in assorted sizes for windows throughout the building, including for the east Ballroom wall. (The wall panels and curtains were replaced in 1936 and a couple times thereafter.) In January 1930, he also ordered from Wadelton 12 mahogany pedestal tables in three sizes for $7,055 that could be fastened together in combinations up to a 72-foot 8-inch-long table, 76 mahogany side chairs with green velvet cushions for $7,220, and four china cabinets for $3,800.

Wadelton brokered (via H. J. Smith & Sons, Philadelphia) two chandeliers for $3,500 apiece and 14 wall brackets for $250 apiece, plus 205 candle bulbs, totaling $10,685. Each large chandelier, custom fabricated by the Voigt Company, 12th Street and Montgomery Avenue in north

Left: Elevation showing proposed stage proscenium (center rectangle) looking east with a peaked greenhouse roof and ventilating monitor.

A pair of fanciful griffins (detail above) would surmount the stage, like something from a D. W. Griffith movie.

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Philadelphia (today relocated to Garfield, northern New Jersey), was said to weigh between 500 and 600 pounds and has 1,250 crystals, presumably from Europe and supplied by New York importer Nelson Bead Company on 37th Street in Manhattan.

Pierre preferred cut crystals over rounded drops without facets. Interestingly, the Voigt Company ran a one-time-only classified ad in The Philadelphia Inquirer for “Chandelier Makers” on April 1, 1930, at a time when chandeliers probably would not have been in demand because of the pending Depression. The chandeliers, hanging from winches, were installed in early May 1930 by the Black and Boyd Manufacturing Company of New York. Pierre purchased 144 additional prisms in 1936 from the Cassidy Company factory in Queens, New York. The chandeliers were completely restored in 1994 by the Brass Anvil Company of New Castle, Delaware.

In March 1931, Pierre awarded stained and leaded glass fabricator H. J. Smith & Sons, under the artistic supervision of John Light, the contract to install a “curved glass ceiling over the Concert Room” for $28,556,

plus $1,698 for the E. William Martin/ Edward Rosenfeld design. The contract notes that the ceiling is to be made up of both carved and sandblasted glass.

The former is 3/16” plate glass carved to Rosenfeld’s drawings with colors selected to be baked in. The contract directs that a protective floor be constructed over the existing hardwood floor; a scaffolding with solid plank flooring be erected; the organ console and the cornice around the room be sheathed in protective wood; the north wall be protected by wire screens and cloth; the existing temporary ceiling be removed; the new ceiling steel from Philadelphia Supplies Company be welded to prevent rattling; and iron grillwork be fabricated by the Adams Foundry Company from models made by sculptor Louis Vergobbi from Rosenfeld’s drawings. The entire installation was to take 14 weeks. The work was guaranteed in writing to be “entirely free from rattles caused by the vibration of the Organ.”

With these expanded facilities, Pierre and Alice du Pont had a spectacular place for entertaining but not so much for seated

concerts. Firmin Swinnen continued to play the organ every Sunday—at least 1,516 concerts—for two hours, but the Ballroom remained closed with only its interior windows open to flood the Conservatory with sound as guests walked around the greenhouses. There were private dinners in the Ballroom and Music Room, public charity concerts in the Exhibition Hall, and some really grand parties for family and friends throughout the Conservatory. But as the Depression lingered, Longwood in the late Thirties was more subdued than in the Roaring Twenties …and even more so in the early 1940s once Alice passed (1944), with employees in the military and gasoline and tires rationed. After the war, Longwood was as busy as ever, but the frequent entertainments and performing arts events were more civic than private. Pierre’s vision was fulfilled, and now he just had to ensure Longwood’s future.

All the while, the place was filled with flowers.

A Century of Floral Sun Parlors: Part Six will appear in the next issue of Longwood Chimes.

Left: The Azalea House, looking east from the Exhibition Hall, soon after completion, c. 1928. It was 188 feet to the far wall and 135 feet wide. Had the original concept been built, there would have been a stage in the distance, descending floor tiers for portable seats, and a much higher roof. This building was demolished in 1969 and reopened in 1973 and 2005 after being rebuilt twice to completely different designs.

Above: The new 105 by 37-foot Ballroom before construction of the pink glass ceiling, 1930. It is curious that the greenhouse roof structure above the ceiling is virtually invisible, but it is supporting the chandeliers; the temporary ceiling covering is possibly fabric. The fabric walls in front of the organ chambers and throughout the room were of

pine-green silk until 1958 when pink damask (to harmonize with the ceiling) became the color scheme.

In 1966, the 12 short upper pilasters throughout the room (five shown here) were removed and the upper fabric panels doubled in width at the suggestion of Advisory Committee member Henry Francis du Pont.

Right: Repainting the Ballroom, 1966.

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The Ballroom

Longwood employees Bruce Roberts and Jane Shiffer reassemble a restored and rewired chandelier in 1994.

The huge brass frame is relatively simple yet ingeniously supports a complicated array of shimmering crystals.

Firmin Swinnen at the original 1929 Aeolian console permanently sited in the southwest corner of the Ballroom. He gave the instrument its national debut on June 25, 1930, for 385 organists and spouses attending the American Guild of Organists Ninth General Convention being held in Philadelphia.

This very rare color view of a dinner hosted by Pierre and Alice du Pont in the Ballroom, from a home movie, shows some of the massive mahogany table and the green fabric walls.

The assembled Ballroom table set for 60 guests in 2006. It can seat up to 76. Photo by Larry Albee.

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Ballroom chandelier in 2017.

Photo by Candie Ward.

Close-up of a Ballroom ceiling glass pane (evidently sea serpents), one of several patterns that were carved. An H. J. Smith & Sons brochure promoting Longwood’s “segmented vaulted ceiling” notes “the wine colored plate glass was especially made, the ornament carved to various depths, giving a plastic effect.” The ceiling is 89 feet 4 inches by 34 feet 4 inches.

This 2015 view shows how the pink glass ceiling is suspended from the permanent roof above.

The upper glass greenhouse roof was replaced with a solid roof and electric lighting in 1979. A recent suspended, movable gantry (partly visible at left) allows access from above.

A letter accompanying the 1931 contract specified that the ceiling was to be “entirely free from rattles caused by the vibration of the Organ or any other cause.” That guarantee has yet to be kept!

Edward M. Rosenfeld (1905–1999) designed the Ballroom ceiling with 1,104 panes of glass rising to a height of 30 feet. He visited Longwood on January 6, 1995, and was happy to provide an impromptu oral history.

He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, was skilled at drawing, and was employed in E. William Martin’s office at $45 a week. He was given the task of designing the ceiling’s decorative supporting grille work and the glass patterns. Pink glass was chosen for warmth to contrast with the green of the adjoining gardens. He recalled

that when the ceiling was being assembled, the contractor called to say it wouldn’t fit. Martin drove Rosenfeld out to Longwood in complete silence. Turns out two structural components had been incorrectly placed by the contractor.

Once fixed, everything went “swimmingly,” and the ride back to Wilmington was much more enjoyable. In 1939, Rosenfeld left Wilmington, served in the Coast Guard during World War II, and eventually traveled the world as an engineer with the Nike-Zeus missile development team.

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Longwood Chimes

No. 304 Winter 2022

Front and Back Cover Detailed pencil drawing of the elaborate Music Room ceiling decoration by J. Walter Cope.

Drawing gift of Louise and Walter E. Cope.

Inside Front Cover C-scales, one of the eight installations guests will enjoy this summer as part of Light, uses recycled CDs. An animation is projected onto the CDs that tells a story and also creates beautiful reflections that bounce off the surrounding walls and objects. In this trial set up at the Bruce Munro Studio, the team was checking the light levels needed to achieve the maximum reflection.

Inside Back Cover Here we see the early development of the work, Time and Again, one of eight pieces to be displayed this summer during Light: Installations by Bruce Munro.

Inspired by our waterlily display, Time and Again features waterlilies fashioned from stainless steel. The craftsman from UK-based shop Freshlook Engineering & Products is working on one section of the piece in preparation for review by Munro.

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Editorial Board Marnie Conley Patricia Evans Steve Fenton Julie Landgrebe Sarah Masterton Katie Mobley Colvin Randall Judy Stevenson James S. Sutton

Contributors This Issue Longwood Staff and Volunteer Contributors Kristina Aguilar Plant Records Manager Hank Davis Volunteer Photographer Bob Doerr Volunteer Photographer Abbey Gau Marketing and Communications Specialist William Hill Volunteer Photographer Maureen McCadden Digital Resource Manager David Ward Volunteer Photographer Other Contributors Noemí Hernández Castro Longwood Fellow Lynn Schuessler Copyeditor Dave Shoemaker Photographer Daniel Traub Photographer

Distribution Longwood Chimes is mailed to Longwood Gardens Staff, Pensioners, Volunteers, Gardens Preferred and Premium Level Members, and Innovators and is available electronically to all Longwood Gardens Members via longwoodgardens.org.

Longwood Chimes is produced twice annually by and for Longwood Gardens, Inc.

Contact As we went to print, every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of all information contained within this publication. Contact us at chimes@longwoodgardens.org. © 2022 Longwood Gardens.

All rights reserved.

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“Great is the art of beginning, but greater still the art of ending.”

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Longwood Gardens is the living legacy of Pierre S. du Pont, inspiring people through excellence in garden design, horticulture, education, and the arts.

Longwood Gardens P.O. Box 501 Kennett Square, PA 19348 longwoodgardens.org

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