Seasonal Highlights: Spring 2023

SP RI NG

Know When Spring is in Bloom!

From tulips to wisteria, follow us on social media for the latest on bloom timing for your favorite spring flowers.

Spring Blooms On View

April 1–May 7, 2023

Spring is an extremely popular time to visit our Gardens. So we may provide an extraordinary experience for you, throughout Spring Blooms Members require timed reservations when visiting Thursday–Sunday from open to close.

Looking to visit early in the day? We’re so pleased to offer a special morning hour for Members from 9–10 am every Saturday and Sunday throughout Spring Blooms. Timed Member reservations are still required during this morning hour for Members, but our Gardens will be available only to Members during that time. Reservations are limited, so please plan ahead.

Gardens Premium Members and Innovators do not require reservations at any time during Spring Blooms.

Spring Calendar

March

4

Asian-Inspired

Begins April 41

28

5

8

9

13

14

15

Dazzling

Seung Hee Cho

3 pm

Scout Programs

10:30 am–12 pm3

17 Member Appreciation Day

10 am–6 pm

Enjoy 20% discounts at The Garden Shop (onsite and online) and on dining.

Longwood Reimagined Member Talk

5 pm4

Join Longwood staff in our Gardens and learn more about this extensive project, the work that’s been done, and what’s coming next.

18

Cooking Inspiration with Bryant Terry: A Community Read Conversation about Black Food Fully Online

6:30 pm5

Design Tuesdays @ The Garden Shop: Mossarium Magic

6:30–8 pm1

Arbor Day: Celebrating Our Trees Webinar (Grades K–8)

10–10:30 am2

Gardening for Pollinators

2-part class

Begins April 191

Plantology on Tap: Springtime Foraging for Edible Wild Plants

The Creamery of Kennett Square Doors open at 5 pm, talk at 6 pm1

Arbor Day: Celebrating Our Trees Webinar (Grades K–8)

1–1:30 pm2

22 Italian Water Garden Opens

Open Air Theatre Fountains Begin 5-minute shows run at 10:15 am, 12:15 pm, 2:15 pm, and 4:15 pm daily (except Tuesdays and during stage setups, rehearsals, and performances)

Grow Your Garden: Family Workshop

10:30–11:30 am or 1–2 pm2

Lyric Fest presents The Metamorphoses of Plants

8 pm6

24 Member Appreciation Day

10 am–6 pm

Enjoy 20% discounts at The Garden Shop (onsite and online) and on dining.

Member Orientation

3 pm7

Black Food Roundtable: A Community Read Conversation with Bryant Terry, Omar Tate, and Thérèse Nelson

Fully Online

6:30 pm5

Arbor Day: Celebrating Our Trees Webinar (Grades K–8)

10–10:30 am2

Native Woodland Wildflowers

2-part class

Begins April 261

Sweet Floral Treats: Fruit Tarts

6–8 pm1

Landscape Design 2

Fully Online

9-part class

Begins April 271

Arbor Day: Celebrating Our Trees Webinar (Grades K–8)

1–1:30 pm2

Raúl Prieto Ramírez

8 pm6

Rain Gardens and the Plants that Love Them

Scout

May

Peirce’s Woods Expected to Be in Bloom Stroll through Peirce’s Woods and discover creeping phlox nestled beneath flowering dogwood and Eastern redbud.

Wisteria Expected to be in Bloom in Early May

9

Design Tuesdays @ The Garden Shop: Hanging Kokedama

6–8 pm1

10

The Gardener and The Chef: Black Food

6:30–9 pm1

Scout Programs

10:30 am–12 pm3

11 Festival of Fountains On View

Now–September 24

Calendar Key

Members-only/Innovators

The Garden Shop

1 Advance registration & fee required: longwoodgardens.org/enroll or 610.388.5454. For a complete list of our Continuing Education opportunities, visit us online.

2 To register or apply: longwoodgardens.org/education

3 Advance registration & fee required: longwoodgardens.org/ or 610.388.5377.

4 Advance registration required: longwoodgardens.org or 610.388.1000.

5 Advance registration required: longwoodgardens.org/ community-read

6 Special ticket required: longwoodgardens.org or 610.388.1000.

7 Advance registration required. longwoodgardens.org/memberorientation or 610.388.1000.

Is the class you want sold out? Email help-ce@longwoodgardens.org or call 610.388.5454 to be put on our wait list.

Please note:

All ticketed events are limited. Sell out likely.

Our Fountains Return

Italian Water Garden

Opens April 22

Open Air Theatre

Opens April 22

Main Fountain Garden

Daily shows begin May 11

Evening illuminated performances begin May 11

Spring Classes

Spring into new opportunities for fun, growth, and learning with our fresh selection of spring classes. Enjoy new offerings on springtime preparation and maintenance, gardening, floral design, and more.

Discover all of our learning opportunities at longwoodgardens.org/enroll.

Community Read Events

Cooking Inspiration with Bryant Terry: A Community Read Conversation About Black Food

Fully Online

April 18, 6:30 pm

Registration Required

Join us online as author Bryant Terry discusses Black Food and presents a fun cooking demonstration.

Black Food Roundtable: A Community Read Conversation with Bryant Terry, Omar Tate, and Thérèse Nelson

Fully Online

April 25, 6:30 pm

Registration Required

Join us online as author Bryant Terry and Black Food contributors

Omar Tate and Thérèse Nelson engage in a panel discussion of Black Food and its themes.

Register for these events, view our full Community Read events calendar, and learn more about the Community Read at longwoodgardens.org/communityread. Our Community Read selections are available for purchase at The Garden Shop (onsite and online) and at major booksellers.

Register for these spring classes, among many others:

Spring Perennial Maintenance

April 15, 1:30–4:30 pm

Register by April 11

As perennials start to emerge after a long winter, learn how to give them the best shot at success in the coming year. From soil amendments to plant dividing, new species to plant combinations, learn best practices to apply in your own garden, while enjoying a walk through the Gardens, seeing the topics covered firsthand.

Gardening for Pollinators

Online Orientation:

April 19, 6:30–7:30 pm

In-Person Plant Walk:

April 22, 10 am–12 pm

Register by April 16

Learn how you can support pollinators in your home garden, explore the ecological importance of these key populations, and see pollination concepts in action with a walk through our Gardens.

Rain Gardens and the Plants that Love Them

April 29, 10 am–12 pm

Register by April 26

The combination of frequent heavy rain followed by long dry spells challenges gardeners to find plants that can thrive in such varied conditions—but this class, and the flat of plants it includes for you to take home and plant in your own home garden, can help you learn how to create a landscape well-suited to handle excess rain.

May Migration Morning

Online Orientation:

May 3, 6–7:15 pm

Onsite Session:

May 7, 8–11 am

Register by April 30

Enjoy a tour of Longwood’s Abbondi property—a section of Longwood not open to the public, but actively managed for biological and ecological diversity—during the height of spring bird migration, while looking for species that are stopping over during their journey north.

New This Year: Drones & Fountains Shows

Tickets On Sale:

April 3 at 10 am: Pre-sale (Gardens Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, Innovators)

April 4 at 10 am: Public Sale

Purchase tickets at longwoodgardens.org

Add choreographed drones flying into amazing aerial formations, to our dancing fountains of infinite colors, and you get our new, captivating Drones & Fountains Shows. Join us for two weekends of high-flying beauty, set to two new fountain performances … and see our Main Fountain Garden sky as you’ve never seen it before.

To Infinity and Beyond

June 8, 9, 10 at 9:15 pm

Set to soaring drones and dancing fountains, beloved songs from animated movie favorites—from Encanto to Moana to Toy Story to many more—jump off the big screen and into the sky in this delightfully fun family performance.

Put Me in, Coach

September 28, 29, 30 at 8:15 pm

From Eye of the Tiger to We Will Rock

You to Centerfield, iconic themes from your favorite sports movies—paired with slam-dunk drones and frontrunner fountains—knock it out of the park in our Main Fountain Garden.

A special ticket is required to experience Drones & Fountains Shows.

Lawn Seating Only: Guests are required to bring their own chair. Sitting on the ground or on a blanket will not be permitted in the performance venue.

Ticketing

Members and Innovators: $10

Children (ages 4 and under) are free.

Gardens1 Members may purchase one Drones & Fountains Show ticket at the $10 rate; Garden2 Members up to two tickets at the $10 rate; Gardens5 and Gardens Preferred Members up to five tickets at the $10 rate; and Gardens Premium Members and Innovators up to nine tickets at the $10 rate.

If purchasing more Drones & Fountains Show tickets than outlined above, Members receive 10% off.

Non-Member pricing for Drones & Fountains Shows is as follows:

Ages 19 and over: $35

Seniors and College Students: $32

Active or Retired US Military or US Veteran: $28

Youth (ages 5–18): $23

Children (ages 4 and under): Free

All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. Shows will proceed in rain. Tickets are limited and sell out is likely. On the evening of a show, Gardens close at 6 pm to everyone but Drones & Fountains Show ticketholders. Chairs are permitted in the Gardens starting at noon.

Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Friday, May 12

Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart

Sunday, August 6

Melody Gardot

Wednesday, June 14

Tickets On Sale:

March 20 at 10 am:

Sutton Foster

Wednesday, August 16

Pre-sale (Gardens Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, Innovators)

March 21 at 10 am: Public Sale

Purchase tickets at: longwoodgardens org/summer-series

Purchasing online, where you can view our interactive seating chart and select your own reserved seat, is the most efficient way to get performance tickets.

Prefer to Order by Phone?

Purchase concert tickets by calling 610.388.1000. Phone

Discount for Gardens Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, and Innovators

Specific levels of Membership and Innovators receive up to 15% off regular ticket prices. If you are eligible to receive the discount, your discount code is printed on the back cover of the brochure.

Tickets limited. Sell out likely.

2023 Summer Performance Series

Our summer performance series dazzles with energy and excitement. Performances include:

Curtis Symphony Orchestra

May 12 at 7 pm

Kicking off the 2023 Curtis On Tour, conductor Osmo Vänskä of the Minnesota Orchestra and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, along with Gilmore Young Artist and the winner of Salon de Virtuosi pianist Janice Carissa, lead the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in an evening of Bartók, Tchaikovsky, and Wei’s Awakening Lion amid a picturesque Meadow Garden backdrop.

Longwood Debut

Performance: Orchard

$55 Reserved Seating

$50 Reserved Seating for Gardens

Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, and Innovators

$40 Lawn Seating Adult

$35 Lawn Seating Adult for Gardens

Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, and Innovators

$20 Lawn Seating Youth (ages 5–18)

$15 Lawn Seating Youth (ages 5–18) for Gardens Preferred, Gardens Premium Members, and Innovators

Melody Gardot

June 14 at 7:30 pm

Jazz vocalist, guitarist, and pianist

Melody Gardot showcases her signature dusky sound, made even more remarkable by her story of overcoming a life-threatening accident—and using it as a springboard to a musical career marked by strength and pure talent.

Longwood Debut

Performance: Open Air Theatre

$42–$62 Reserved Seating

$37–$57 Gardens Preferred, Gardens

Premium Members, and Innovators

Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart

August 6 at 7:30 pm

Returning for his first bluegrass tour in 24 years and fresh off his 2022 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass

Album celebrated banjo player Béla Fleck performs with some of the greatest instrumentalists in bluegrass music’s history alongside the best of the new generation of players.

Performance: Open Air Theatre

$40–$60 Reserved Seating

$35–$55 Gardens Preferred, Gardens

Premium Members, and Innovators

Sutton Foster

August 16 at 7:30 pm

Most recently seen on the Broadway stage starring in The Music Man opposite Hugh Jackman, two-time Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and dancer Sutton Foster is beloved for her many television credits, to originating the roles of Millie Dillmont in Thoroughly Modern Millie to Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical, to so much more.

Longwood Debut

Performance: Open Air Theatre

$46–$76 Reserved Seating

$41–$71 Gardens Preferred, Gardens

Premium Members, and Innovators

Shows are still being added. Check longwoodgardens.org/summer-series for announcements and additions.

Gardens Information

Spring Blooms

April 1–May 7, 2023

Reservations

Reservations for Members are required all day Thursdays through Sundays throughout Spring Blooms. Gardens

Premium Members and Innovators do not require reservations.

Gardens Hours

Monday: 10 am–6 pm

Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday: 10 am–6 pm

Thursday: 10 am–6 pm

Friday: 10 am–6 pm

Saturday: 9 am–6 pm*

Sunday: 9 am–6 pm*

*Gardens open for Members and Innovators only from 9–10 am. Reservations are limited; please plan ahead.

The Garden Shop Hours

Wednesday–Monday: 10 am–6 pm

Tuesday: Closed

Dining Hours

The Cafè

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday: 11 am–5 pm

Saturday and Sunday: 10 am–5 pm

1906 Wednesday–Monday: 11 am–3 pm Visit longwoodgardens.org for more details. Hours subject to change.

Phone: 610.388.1000

Website: longwoodgardens.org

Free WiFi available: Connect to FreeGardenWIFI

Our Gardens are smoke-free.

Photography credits: Hank Davis, Kelly Giarrocco, Becca Mathias, and Daniel Traub

© 2023 Longwood Gardens