One of America’s most beautiful gardens and a favorite of family travelers for its imaginative and colorful displays, Longwood Gardens outdid itself in a spectacular revitalization. Opening this month and timed to correspond with its annual Holiday Spectacular, Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience adds new buildings and landscape designs throughout its 17-acre center.
Longwood is known for its use of fountains and water features in its garden design, and the new glasshouse carries out this theme, appearing to float on water. Inside, visitors are immersed in a Mediterranean-inspired garden with islands, pools, canals and fountains. This contemporary, 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory is the centerpiece of the new project, expanding the indoor display space.
This new space supplements the historic Main Conservatory, an elegant and classic setting for lush seasonal displays alongside pools and underneath full-grown tropical trees. Each holiday season brings a new themed display to the large sunken pool, and the concourse is filled with masses of red and white poinsettias. This is where you’ll find the magical Indoor Children’s Garden, a lush space of draping vines, secret stairways and whimsical fountains.
Built in the 1920s by Longwood’s original owners as a place to grow tropical fruits year-round, the Main Conservatory is one of the finest examples of 19th-century-style glasshouses. By contrast, the new East Conservatory with its asymmetrical peaks is a model of contemporary design and new, sustainable technologies. The project also includes an outdoor Bonsai Courtyard displaying as many as 50 miniature trees, which always fascinate children.
The holiday season is a good time to see Longwood Gardens, especially for families. The indoor displays are breathtaking, and, after dark, the grounds are a wonderland of lights. Fountains bathed in colored lighting and water seems to dance in time to music. A Longwood Christmas is open through Jan. 12, 2025.
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