Longwood Chimes Issue 298

LONGWOOD CHIMES 298

Winter 2019

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No. 298

A seed…that amazing marvel of nature that overcomes incredible odds to flourish into something beautiful, life-sustaining, and inspiring. In this issue of Longwood Chimes, we explore seeds in all contexts … from the seed of inspiration that spurred Mr. du Pont to construct our grand Conservatory, to the seed of an idea that has grown into a national movement to combat declining numbers of horticulture professionals, to the beauty of physical seeds gathered from our Gardens and from our plant exploration trips around the globe. Celebrate with us the humble beginnings that lead to great things.

In Brief

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Plantologists Unite!

Seed Your Future is growing the next generation of horticulturists.

By Susan E. Yoder

Features

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Natural Selection Christmas ornaments crafted from natural materials embody our spirit of beauty and giving.

By Katie Mobley

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By the Book Our Community Read is building rapport by sharing the joy of plants, nature, and great books.

By David Sleasman

Gone to Seed A survey and celebration of seeds from throughout the Gardens.

Nutrition from Within How composting is nourishing the needs (and seeds) of our plant collection.

By Dr. Matt Taylor

A Century of Floral Sun Parlors Part One: The Seed is Planted A new series on the creation of Longwood’s great Conservatory.

By Colvin Randall

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Array of Light A spark of creativity and a plethora of details bring Luminary Nights to life.

By Patricia Evans

End Notes

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Remembering William H. Frederick, Jr. A look back at the life, work, and enduring influence of plantsman and landscape designer William H. Frederick, Jr.

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In Brief

The seeds of a Victoria ‘Longwood Hybrid’ waterlily are juxtaposed here with the underside of one of the waterlily’s giant leaf pads.

Commonly referred to as the giant water-platter, they are one of the iconic features of our summer season. One little-known fascinating fact about these plants is that they are grown from these pea-sized seeds each year in

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special tanks dedicated and calibrated to the needs of these majestic giants.

From seed sown in January, plants are set out on display around the end of May and quickly grow to fill the pools during the summer season.

In August we begin the process of hand pollinating and harvesting seed to ensure stock for next year’s display.

Photo by Daniel Traub.

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Education

Plantologists Unite!

We are reaching a crisis point in horticulture.

The horticulturists of today are aging and retiring, and the pipeline of people to follow them is a mere dribble. Employers across all of horticulture—from public gardens and laboratories, to greenhouses and hydroponics facilities—cannot find enough qualified candidates to fill their open positions.

College and university horticulture programs are declining. Reaching far beyond the strength and longevity of the horticulture industry, this crisis is about the future of the planet. We must consider who will take the reins and have the expertise to provide the technology, science, art, and business acumen necessary to meet the rapidly increasing demand for ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs in the face of the changing global environment. Who will grow food that is safe and nutritious to feed the growing world? Who will research cures for disease? Who will help solve some of our world’s biggest environmental issues such as pollution, drought, clean water, and climate change? And who will bring wonder to our world by creating landscapes and gardens that are not only beautiful but provide physical, social, and emotional health supports?

In 2014, Longwood Gardens took the lead on tackling this issue, and along with the American Society of Horticultural Science, founded the Seed Your Future movement with Longwood President and Chief Executive Officer Paul B. Redman serving as the Seed Your Future co-chair.

With more than 150 partners across the horticulture industry including horticulture companies, gardening organizations, schools, colleges and universities, public gardens, and youth organizations, we are united by our confidence in the power of plants to change the world.

The Seed Your Future movement has taken a proactive approach with a mission to promote horticulture and inspire more

people to pursue careers working with plants. We spent our first three years conducting focused research, which today serves as a foundation for the work that officially launched in 2018. The research affirmed what we are experiencing today.

We are living in a time of great disconnection from plants. Plants are everywhere—yet plants are nowhere on the minds of most Americans. This “plant-blindness” is especially significant among our nation’s youth. Informed by research examining the right time to reach young people about the wonder of plants and fulfilling plant careers, Seed Your Future decided to focus our first campaign on middle school students. But first, we needed to know what kids had to say.

When asked, middle school students in our focus groups did not know what “horticulture” meant. After we shared with them how plants impact our lives every day, and the diversity of careers across the art, science, technology, and business of plants, the students’ perception of horticulture became much clearer. They wanted us to stop using “weird” words like “horticulture,” show them through video and social media content how plants can change the world, and have “cool” young people tell them about their fun (#ILoveMyPlantJob) careers.

They coined the term “plantologist” instead of “horticulturist” and urged us to connect plants to what they are already interested in such as sports, fashion, medicine, technology, and art.

To engage middle school students, we launched Seed Your Future’s BLOOM! initiative (weareBLOOM.org) in April 2018.

Through eye-catching content delivered both inside and outside the classroom, BLOOM! is educating and inspiring young people about the endless possibilities in horticulture.

With a staggering presence in 100 percent of classrooms in K-12 schools and more than 90 percent of classrooms in America, Scholastic serves as an important partner

Seed Your Future is growing the next generation of horticulturists.

By Susan E. Yoder

in the BLOOM! initiative. With its support, we have also created an exciting microsite of free educator resources including an online learning module, sample lesson plans and activities, infographics, and videos to help adults inspire youth to love plants and consider careers in horticulture.

Anyone can download the free resources at scholastic.com/BLOOM (educator resources) and weareBLOOM.org/partners (toolkit of materials).

We’ve already reached almost one million students with our BLOOM! materials in 2018!

Year two goals include reaching an additional one million students.

Now that we’re on a solid path of reaching middle schoolers, we’re developing our second campaign—this one focusing on colleges and universities. In 2019, Longwood will host an enrollment summit with colleges and universities that currently offer horticulture programs. We hope to learn their needs, and then based on the research we’ve already conducted, create tools and resources to help colleges and universities inspire enrollment in horticulture training programs. In years to come, we’ll develop other campaigns to help solve this workforce gap. Perhaps mid-career-changers, returning veterans, ex-offenders, and people with special needs will be among our next priorities. We’ll continue to expand our partnerships and work together to ensure a solid pipeline of trained and passionate horticulturists for years to come.

For more information about the work of Seed Your Future, visit seedyourfuture.org. We invite you to join in the movement to help teach the plant-blind to see and open young minds to the possibilities of a future in horticulture. It’s time for Americans to wake up and smell (and grow) the roses, trees, and tomatoes. Together, we can show them how.

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Education

By the Book For the last few years the Longwood Library and Information Services Department has been leading an initiative to share the joy of plants, nature, and great books.

As most Longwood Chimes readers know, this department largely works behind the scenes. The LIS team manages the library, institutional archives, photography collections, and plant records. For this initiative, however, the LIS team—joined by colleagues in the Education and Marketing Departments—works to share the message directly with Longwood’s Members and the community beyond. The strategy is to encourage two simple, yet powerful, human activities—reading and talking.

The Community Read idea draws upon a programming format common in libraries to focus attention on literature. For Longwood this means shining a light on writings about plants, science, and gardens.

In turn, the ideas embedded in the featured books seed events and programming throughout the region. The first featured book in 2014 was Aldo Leopold’s conservation classic, A Sand County Almanac, a selection inspired by our newly opened Meadow Garden. That pattern continues. The vision for each book selection starts with Longwood but must speak to a wider audience.

Appropriately, the Community Read selections should embrace larger themes drawn from humanity’s relationship with the plant kingdom. Featured books have explored Native Americans’ spiritual connection to plants (Braiding Sweetgrass

by Robin Kimmerer), the potential power of one’s own creative energy for a world better connected to nature (Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery), engineering in the garden and all around us (The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay), and women in science and horticulture (Lab Girl by Hope Jahren).

From the very beginning we sought to take the programming idea further by 8

Our Community Read is building rapport by sharing the joy of plants, nature, and great books.

By David Sleasman

utilizing Community Read as a way to nurture the organizational relationships between like-minded nonprofits. Public gardens in the Philadelphia region frequently share resources, but not so common is an ongoing forum to reach across the gardens’ gates to public libraries, museums, and conservation organizations. In this spirit Longwood uses the skills of our Education and Marketing teams to provide extensive program resources and publicity materials, while strongly encouraging cooperation between partners. For the many nonprofit organizations involved in the program, Community Read is a chance to work on initiatives together. For example, over the last few years Delaware Nature Society and Delaware Museum of Natural History each have created Community Read programs that they have taken on the road to the many public library partners. Without Community Read, these libraries may not have had the opportunity to offer such programs. This cross-pollination of programming helps each organization to broaden and nurture its audience and help meet organizational goals while exploring the ideas of the featured books.

Community Read partners include public libraries, museums, gardens, and conservation organizations throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and northeastern Maryland.

They are the essence of the “Community” in the Community Read. Most return year after year and some join for a specifically themed year. Some create only one program while others create more. Although Longwood plants the seed, the real cultivation of the ideas happen with each community partner organization. Each of these organizations plans programs based on its own perspective and audience: book discussions, lectures, activities, movie nights, videos, hikes, and sometimes even field trips. Most are free.

The types of activities are bounded only by a partner’s imagination and budget. The audiences range from large to small, but every event adds up to a big impact. In 2018 the combined attendance for the 214 programs on the Community Read calendar was estimated to be more than 8,000 people. In addition, consider the thousands of people checking out copies of the books at each of the public libraries. That is a substantial amount of reading and talking.

Expanding the potential for conversation to younger readers, we have added titles for young and middle school readers at the suggestion of our partners, who wanted to reach a wider audience. With those additional young adult titles, the Community Read extends its ideas across the region and across age levels. Parents and grandparents can talk about many of the same ideas with their children and grandchildren.

New titles introduced in 2019 include The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses, and Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History by Thor Hanson. Hanson’s engaging writing leads readers to discover the power that seeds contain, their ability to endure, and the journeys they take. Hanson tells the tale of these amazing marvels of nature as they explode into extraordinary beauty both tiny and grand and, in turn, nourish and inspire human life. Also included this year are two books for younger readers: Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman for middle school readers, and The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller for the youngest readers.

Visit longwoodgardens.org for a complete list of 2019 Community Read programs.

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How composting is nourishing the needs (and seeds) of our plant collection.

By Dr. Matt Taylor

Sustainability

Nutrition from Within From little acorns mighty oaks grow—or, in the case of Longwood’s Soil and Composting Facility, from plant material to nutrient-rich soil, the next generations of seeds grow. All seeds (except those of orchids) have nutrients and energy stored as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These reserves are essential for germinating seeds that have not yet formed chlorophyll to harvest solar energy or developed extensive root systems to collect mineral elements from the soil. As a seedling develops, these stored nutrients become exhausted. The young plant will shift dependence from the reserved nourishment and instead rely on its developing root system to obtain vital elements from the earth in order to grow.

Soil or growing substrate, as used in greenhouse and nursery production of plants, serves as the source of mineral elements the plant requires for growth and reproduction. As the plant grows—whether in nature, on a greenhouse bench, or in the landscape—its root system will tortuously navigate the soil, searching for areas rich in nutrients and water. Once a plant has completed its life cycle, nutrient absorption by roots ceases, and the plant returns to the ground from which it germinated. Through decomposition by the soil fauna and biota, the plant matter releases its collected mineral nutrients to the soil, from which future generations of plants can use these nutrients.

This process is referred to as nutrient cycling.

At our Soils and Composting Facility, we use thermophilic composting to place

Opposite: A grower holding a custommade Longwood substrate blend that contains nutrientrich compost.

tight control over plant decomposition and nutrient cycling. We collect herbaceous and woody plant material across the property and then blend the material with horse manure, along with food waste from our Terrace Restaurant in specific ratios to begin the composting process. We closely monitor the windrows, created from the blended feedstocks, for temperature and oxygen to determine when we should utilize a tractormounted compost-turner to oxygenate the windrow and, in turn, facilitate decomposition. Regular and properly timed turning is essential in the production of high-quality compost, and once the windrow temperature stops exceeding 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills weed seeds and pathogens, the intense decomposition phase of composting is complete. We then conduct a nutrient analysis to ensure the finished product is suitable for use. In nature, decomposition of woody plant material can take decades. With controlled thermophilic composting at our Soil and Composting Facility, we create mature, usable compost in less than four months. But we’re not done just yet—this newly created compost is so nutrient-rich that using it solely as a growing media for plants would burn their roots.

In order to use the resulting compost in greenhouse production, we must blend it with other ingredients. The Research Team has conducted years of studies evaluating the physical and chemical properties of a wide range of compost growing media recipes to ensure the plants we grow in our greenhouse

and nursery have a premium root growth environment. As a result of this research, we have reduced our dependence on growing media ingredients sourced from outside the Gardens by approximately 15 percent.

Longwood compost always has a very high pH. This led us to research and create a unique specialty “acid compost.” Using a recipe we developed, we create a low pH version of our compost to ensure it is safe for use with acid-loving plants, helping them stay vigorous and healthy. Our secret ingredient? We add elemental sulfur in the beginning of the composting process. As a result, we can use our “acid compost” as a garden bed amendment in areas where we want to lower soil pH. Both regular and “acid” compost are used to promote tree health; and as a fertilizer for turf areas, our vegetable garden, and agricultural fields across the property. The compost delivers essential nutrients to the plants, and provides a suite of microorganisms that can improve soil health and protect plant roots from diseases.

Our composting efforts have far-reaching effects within the Gardens, as the compost we create is only used here at Longwood.

With winter upon us, flowers have faded and leaves have senesced. Decaying plant materials of the land will be cycling their nutrients back to the earth to become the nutrition for the next generation of seeds.

And so begins another cycle of drawing upon these nutrients to nourish the next generation of Longwood’s plant collection.

Photography by Hank Davis

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Left: Turning a compost windrow at Longwood’s Soil and Composting Facility. Regular and properly timed turning is essential in the production of high-quality compost.

This procedure oxygenates the compost and reduces the temperature within the windrows.

We closely monitor the windrows ‌for temperature and oxygen to determine when we should utilize a tractor-mounted compost-turner to oxygenate the windrow and, in turn, facilitate decomposition.

Above: Senior Soils and Composting Equipment Operator Evan Gruber takes a temperature read on a compost pile.

Left: Fresh wood chips from Longwood arborist activities will be used as a feedstock for compost.

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Soil Testing Program Testing soil pH and nutrient content is an essential tool for healthy management of Longwood’s plant collection.

Longwood volunteers Catherine Buckminster and Steve Long have been running the soil testing program for the last five years, during which time they have handled upwards of 5,000 samples. They run analyses for greenhouse crop production, test soil throughout the Conservatory, and often take on large holistic projects such as testing the soils through the entirety of Peirce’s Woods and the Main Fountain Garden.

Above: Soil samples are routinely collected from across the Gardens and brought to the Soil Lab for testing.

Above: Longwood volunteers Catherine Buckminster (foreground) and Steve Long in the Soil Lab. Catherine is mixing a soil sample with deionized water to extract nutrients. Photo

by Daniel Traub.

Left: Extract solutions are then tested for pH and electrical conductivity. Soil pH is a measure of acidity and EC is a measure of nutrient content.

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Features

The edible fruit of Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ contains an abundance of seeds, yet very little pulp.

Hillside Garden, 2018. Photo

by Daniel Traub.

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The Arts

Natural Selection Christmas ornaments crafted from natural materials embody our spirit of beauty and giving.

By Katie Mobley Photography by Daniel Traub

Left: Longwood Land Stewardship Technician Calvin Cooper forages for hickory nut shells in the Meadow Garden. The shells were used to make Christmas ornaments for the Meadow Trees.

Opposite: Longwood volunteer Sarah Finnaren puts the finishing touches on a sphere made from the scales of Atlas cedar cones for the Lookout Loft Christmas display.

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The spectacular 15-foot birdhouse Wildlife Tree featured 204 birdhouses in eight different designs to accommodate a variety of species including owls, chickadees, purple marlins, wood ducks, wrens, housefinches, and northern flickers.

Detail view of coconut shell feeders, and millet and broom corn bunches, set atop two of the northern flicker birdhouses created for the Wildlife Tree display, Christmas 2018.

The towering elegance of twinkling Fraser firs. The graceful curve of a vibrant amaryllis. The sounds of laughter punctuating the Gardens. A sense of warmth and togetherness. Beauty can be found in many shapes and senses at Longwood—particularly during our Christmas season, when the comfort of nostalgia meets the spirit of giving throughout our Gardens.

While we always aim for innovation and imagination in our Christmas displays, we also take care to showcase the tiniest of natural materials that make our Gardens so beautiful, as well as the hard work of our volunteers that allows Longwood to truly shine. Perhaps no Christmas elements celebrate natural materials, applaud our volunteers, and give back to our resident feathered and furry friends more than the Wildlife Tree and Meadow Trees.

Our annual Wildlife Tree made its debut in 1992 in the form of a 12-foot

Norway spruce situated outside of the East Conservatory. While the Conservatory glowed with an 18-foot revolving tree trimmed with 1,200 ornaments and 7-foot poinsettia standards lining an allée of spinning fountains, the Wildlife Tree stood tall just outside, decorated with sheaths of wheat, barley, and millet, outfitted with cups full of birdseed, apples, and cranberry rings, and enjoying its popularity with the guests, squirrels, and birds.

Since its beginning, the Wildlife Tree has moved about the Gardens each Christmas season, making stops along the way outside of the Peirce-du Pont House, Canopy Cathedral Treehouse, and, this past year, near the Small Lake. No matter its setting, the Wildlife Tree has always focused on nourishing wildlife, adorned with ornaments crafted from seeds and other natural materials, from raisin strands to stacked mini apples to garlands of dry citrus slices. “The use of natural materials is what

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sets Longwood apart,” shares Senior Horticulturist Pandora Young, who has overseen the Wildlife Tree since 2005.

“We use things from the Gardens and we take inspiration from the Gardens.

The end result is not just pretty but gives back to wildlife at a time of year when they could use it the most.”

This past Christmas, Young and her team of volunteers created a thing of beauty with the imaginative 15-foot birdhouse Wildlife Tree surrounded by four evergreens draped in millet, wheat, and broom corn, as well as 50 coconut shells replenished daily with birdseed.

The volunteer team lovingly constructed the Wildlife Tree’s ornaments, as well as its 204 birdhouses in eight different designs to accommodate owls to chickadees.

Following birdhouse kits created by Longwood carpenters, longtime volunteers like Roger and Nancy Hiss constructed the beautiful birdhouses from white pine and

“The use of natural materials is what sets Longwood apart. We use things from the Gardens and we take inspiration from the Gardens. The end result is not just pretty but gives back to wildlife at a time of year when they could use it the most.”

—Pandora Young, Senior Horticulturist, Longwood Gardens

Right: Pandora Young restocks the feeders at the Wildlife Tree located near the Small Lake, Christmas 2018.

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Left: Volunteer Karen Blackburn (left) and Senior Horticulturist Kari Getchonis collaborate on natural material ornaments for the 2018 Peirce-du Pont House Christmas display.

Below and center: Volunteer Lois Lynch cuts birch bark into strips for a handcrafted birch bark tree for the Peirce-du Pont House Christmas display.

Ornaments created for the Lookout Loft Treehouse Christmas display include (above) a handcrafted ornament made from sugar pine scales and Atlas cedar cones, and (right) wreaths constructed from princess-tree seed capsules and dawn redwood cones.

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Above: Volunteers Anne Baines (left) and Kathy Wells working on a birch bark wreath for the Lookout Loft Treehouse holiday display.

Left: Volunteer Barbara O’Connell assembles a Meadow Tree ornament from larch cones.

Below: Volunteer Toni Gorkin assembles a larch cone ornament for the Meadow Trees.

Above: A variety of finished ornaments created for the Meadow Tree, in a color palette of gold, silver, bronze, burgundy, and white.

Above: A handcrafted ornament in progress for the Meadow Tree, made from a variety of materials including magnolia, alder, and pine cones.

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“We’re using already beautiful objects to create new beautiful objects.”

—Calvin Cooper, Land Stewardship Technician, Longwood Gardens

Above: A beautiful ornament crafted from dried common milkweed pods and a sweet-gum ball topper. Meadow Tree, Hourglass Lake Pavilion, Christmas 2018.

Below: An artful assemblage of hickory nut shells (sourced from the Meadow Garden).

Opposite: Calvin Cooper gathers common milkweed pods from a natural land area at Longwood as source material for Meadow Tree ornaments.

fallen redwood and cypress trees from Longwood property, and then coated them with linseed oil to protect them from the elements. “The Gardens are extraordinary inspiration,” shares Nancy. “I like the idea that the tree is decorated in natural materials that perhaps are reminiscent of a simpler time…” Not only did this year’s Wildlife Tree ornaments and birdhouses give back to the wildlife—they also give back to the local community, as a number of the birdhouses will be given to area schools and natural land organizations to be future homes for birds.

Another Christmas highlight that showcases the beauty of natural materials is our Meadow Trees. Their natural aesthetic is a reflection of the Meadow Garden itself. Our first Meadow Tree came on the scene in 2015 as a 12-foot white fir with ornaments crafted from materials found in the Meadow Garden and our natural lands. Draped throughout the years in such creations as silver grapevine garland and water droplet-shaped ornaments filled with milkweed down, our Meadow Trees have always relied on the beauty of natural materials. This Christmas season, our twin Fraser fir Meadow Trees wowed with artistic

ornaments made of pine cones, magnolia pods, milkweed pods, and sweet-gum balls, sourced from Longwood property, in a color palette of gold, silver, bronze, burgundy, and white.

Land Stewardship Technician Calvin Cooper, overseeing the Meadow Trees for the first time in 2018, recognizes the use of natural materials as “a way to get people further acquainted with the objects they’d find in the landscape, showing how to be creative and resourceful with what you can gather in your own backyard. We’re using already beautiful objects to create new beautiful objects.”

Just like Young, Cooper calls the role of volunteers “absolutely crucial” in the creation of the Meadow Trees, citing their dedication to gathering the natural materials from such Longwood spaces as Oak and Conifer Knoll and transforming those natural materials into gorgeous ornaments worthy of their stunning Meadow Garden surroundings. Volunteer George Gallatig, who has donated his time and expertise to many Meadow Garden endeavors, shares that the creation of the Meadow Trees and his work building the birdhouses for the Wildlife Tree has ultimately resulted in “happy memories” for all. With that, we happily agree.

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Horticulture

Gone toSeed 24

A survey and celebration of seeds from throughout the Gardens.

Photography by David Ward

Longwood hybrid aquatic canna. In the 1970s Longwood acquired Canna glauca, a true aquatic canna from tropical America, for the purposes of crossing with common terrestrial hybrids.

The resulting efforts produced four specimens commonly known as Longwood hybrid aquatic cannas that prefer moist-to-wet conditions.

Most people grow cannas for their bright vibrant flowers and bold foliage, but the seed pods can be simply exquisite as well. Late in the season we often leave some of the seed pods intact to add interest to the Waterlily Display. These three-angled dry capsules eventually split to expose hard round seeds with a long viability.

Opposite The seed head of Tillandsia leonamiana Ă— stricta. This air plant from the bromeliad family is typically on display in the Cascade Garden.

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Opposite, clockwise from top left: Bald-cypress cones; dried seed head of Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis (Chinese licorice); Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria) seed pods; Catalpa seed pods.

This page, clockwise from above: Hamamelis Ă— intermedia (witchhazel) seeds; Cedrus atlantica Glauca Group (blue Atlas cedar) cone; Quercus cerris (turkey oak) acorn; Fagus grandifolia (American beech) seed; Quercus alba (white oak) acorn.

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Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly called swan-plant or sometimes balloon-plant because of the balloon-like fruit it produces, is a relative (in the same family) of the common milkweed. This is especially evident when looking at the silk-like material attached to the seeds, which helps them spread when blown by wind.

The plant is native to southeast Africa, but has become naturalized in many parts of the world and is frequently grown as an ornamental, as we do here at Longwood where it is a common ingredient in the trial beds of the Idea Garden.

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Echium wildpretii, commonly called tower-ofjewels, is one of the more iconic plants in the early spring Conservatory seasonal displays, because of the nearly 7-foot spikes of salmon-pink flowers.

Native to the Canary Islands, Longwood received our first seed from a botanical garden in Tenerife in 1984 and has been growing the plant ever since. Because the plant is rather unusual and not widely produced in the commercial greenhouse industry, Longwood staff hand pollinate several plants each year to generate the seed needed to grow the next year’s crop of display plants.

Pollination is done using a large paintbrush and gently brushing up and down the flower spike when it is in peak bloom. Flower spikes used for seed production are allowed to mature naturally and once they dry down, the seed is manually separated, cleaned, and stored until it is time to sow it for the next crop of plants.

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This spread and following spread: Specimens gathered from the Hillside Garden. Plants in this area are selected for their year-round interest, and add structure to the display even in midwinter.

Left to right: Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower); Thermopsis villosa (Carolina-lupine); Digitalis sp. (foxglove); Baptisia (false indigo).

Overleaf: Dried seed capsules of Pycnanthemum muticum (clustered mountain-mint).

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Legacy

A Century of Floral Sun Parlors A new series on the creation of Longwood’s great Conservatory.

By Colvin Randall 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of Longwood Gardens’ most iconic feature, the great Conservatory that one writer described in 1921 as a collection of “floral sun parlors.” This crystal palace of glasshouses, artful gardens, production ranges, concert spaces, musical instruments, museum exhibits, floral and design studios, classrooms, library, archives, offices, tunnels, and climate facilities is a unique successor to an exhibition concept that was glorified from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Many of those older buildings have disappeared, but Longwood’s has survived and grown to its present perfection thanks to founder Pierre S. du Pont and to a dedicated staff who continues his vision.

These efforts are applauded by millions of grateful visitors who return again and again.

The story of Longwood’s Conservatory is a fascinating tale of travel and discovery, architecture and design, trial and error, exploration and research, and gracious hospitality. As the complex begins its second century, a look back can only strengthen the admiration of the many guests who delight in its varied splendors.

The complete story will be chronicled here over the next several issues of the Longwood Chimes, as told by Colvin Randall, Longwood’s P.S. du Pont Fellow, who has studied the Gardens’ history for nearly 50 years.

Tulips and primroses in the Orangery, spring 2003. Photo

by Larry Albee. Longwood Gardens Library & Archives.

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Part One

The Seed is Planted

In his first 23 years, Pierre du Pont’s rustic beginnings were enriched by three world-class spectacles that ushered in a new age for mankind.

Pierre Samuel du Pont was born five years after the close of the Civil War, in 1870, at Nemours, a DuPont Company house overlooking the Brandywine Creek a few miles north of Wilmington, Delaware. He was the third child and first son of Lammot and Mary du Pont, whose large family eventually included 10 surviving children.

Pierre’s early years were influenced by the traditions of the Brandywine country where he was exposed to the beauty of the rolling landscape with its ever-present river and to the du Pont family traditions of gardening. He noted that in this rural setting, his childhood home was four miles from Wilmington with but one family carriage and two horses for travel. A country store and the garden furnished food excepting what was brought from town.

Country life along the Brandywine was comfortable by comparison to the plight of factory workers, but it lacked the excitement of the big city. So for young Pierre, the 1876 Centennial held in Philadelphia was thrilling beyond anything he could have imagined.

He had the good fortune to be taken to the Centennial on two occasions, and true to his later interests, it was the architecture, the machinery, the horticultural exhibits, and the waterworks that he remembered.

Of his impressions he later wrote: “First the tremendous size and brilliance of the Main Exposition Building—to my eyes a most 36

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The Centennial site covered 285 acres with 255 structures sheltering 30,000 exhibitors.

Pierre du Pont especially remembered the Main Exhibition Hall (1), Hydraulic Annex of Machinery Hall (2), Horticultural Hall (3), and Elevated Railway (4), which loosely connected Agricultural Hall (5) to Horticultural Hall.

Free Library of Philadelphia.

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Pierre du Pont at about 5 years of age c.1875, at 16 in 1886, and at 32 in 1902. Hagley Museum and Library.

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Pierre later noted, “I have seen other and probably much better and finer Expositions, Chicago [1893] the outstanding one, but the one of 1876 still remains the finest in my recollections.”

Below: The $1.76 million Main Exhibition Building was 1,832 × 120 × 70 feet high plus four towers and four arched pavilions, enclosing 21.47 acres. Machinery Hall was 1,402 × 360 feet with a southern wing of 208 × 210 feet, enclosing 14 acres in all; it cost nearly $800,000.

Library of Congress.

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beautiful sight with flags flying from staffs throughout its entire length. Within it was a wilderness of the manufactured products of the world….

“The ‘Machinery Hall’ captivated me though I was disappointed to see that the building was not as beautiful as the one first mentioned. The great Corliss Engine in the center of the building was awe inspiring, its great height and reputed power seemed beyond belief though today it would seem a much over-grown toy.”

Pierre’s second visit to the Centennial resulted in two disappointments. The giant conservatory was not all that he had expected. Horticultural Hall, he remembered, “had a collection of tropical plants, then small of course, of which the most advertised were the tree ferns.

To my eye they were lacking in height— not nearly as high as the trees at home and they were almost devoid of leaves, a sad and disappointing sight.” (Nevertheless, tree ferns have always been one of the signature plants in Longwood’s Conservatory.)

Outdoors, the Centennial grounds were ripe with carpet bedding, especially along Fountain Avenue leading to Horticultural Hall, but there were also rugged wooded ravines where no additional planting was needed. One was crossed by a newfangled monorail, which was Pierre’s second let-down: “To reach the Horticultural Hall [from Agricultural Hall], one boarded a railroad train that had one rail only. My disappointment was in the fact that the one rail feature was not clearly seen from the car and the latter

did not run off the track as I had felt sure it would.”

All in all, the Philadelphia Centennial provided for almost 10 million guests a spectacular glimpse of the world at large as well as an indication of things to come.

Pierre later noted, “I have seen other and probably much better and finer Expositions, Chicago [1893] the outstanding one, but the one of 1876 still remains the finest in my recollections.”

In 1879, at the age of nine, Pierre stayed in Philadelphia while receiving daily therapy treatments for a muscular ailment. Much of his free time was spent exploring the city. He was fascinated by the construction of City Hall, then no more than two or three stories high, and he especially enjoyed sneaking in an unguarded construction entrance to watch workmen set large blocks of stone.

But he had what he termed a new “thrill” when he discovered the former Matthias Baldwin mansion at 1118 Chestnut Street. He later recalled: “Mr. Baldwin, founder of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, was a self made man who is said to have been a lover of flowers in his boyhood and who resented the fact that many private collections were withheld from public view. When he built the greenhouse adjoining his home on Chestnut Street he placed it with one long side directly on the street line where it could be observed at all times. This story was told to me by my Uncle as we admired the flowers. I made an inward resolve that if ever I built a greenhouse it would be kept open to public view from within as well as

Below: Horticultural Hall was 383 × 193 × 69 feet tall, with a 20-foot-high gallery around the inside. Glass forcing houses were attached to the sides. A prominent roof lantern crowned the top. It cost $300,000. It was demolished in 1955 after damage from Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

New York Public Library.

Right: Australian tree ferns, palms, and tropical trees were displayed inside Horticultural Hall, along with garden ornaments, aquariums, flower stands, garden equipment, and mounted graphic plans promoting the emerging profession of landscape design. Eleven countries exhibited indoors.

The tree ferns, shipped from San Francisco, were in the center, and Pierre was not the only one to observe that they were in less-thanperfect condition. New York Public Library.

Below right: The Safety Elevated Railway was 500 feet long, chugging along up to 30 feet above a ravine. It seated 60, and passengers paid three cents for a two-minute trip. In addition to the main center rail, two lower rails stabilized the car. Library of Congress.

Below: The 1116–1118 Chestnut Street house built by Hartman Kuhn (1784–1860) was purchased by Matthias Baldwin (1795–1866), who added an adjoining fourarch windowed conservatory fronting the street. From about 1862 to 1867, some or all of the residence was the clubhouse for the new Union League of Philadelphia. The building’s use

in 1879, when Pierre saw it, is not known; the conservatory at some point became a florist shop as shown in the photo at bottom right. The complex was demolished and replaced

by Keith’s New Chestnut Street Theatre, opening in 1902.

That theatre was remodeled several times before being demolished in 1971. Free Library of Philadelphia.

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from without. Time and destiny have enabled me to make good this self-made, if not selfish, promise.”

In 1881, Lammot du Pont moved his family from the Brandywine vicinity to Philadelphia so that he could more easily commute to his new Repauno Chemical works in New Jersey. But in 1884, he was killed in an explosion there. Fourteenyear-old Pierre stepped up and assumed responsibilities that would grow as the years passed, providing invaluable training for later accomplishments.

Despite the tragedy, the lifestyle of the family was not altered to any great degree. The du Ponts continued to live in Philadelphia where, in 1886, Pierre concluded five years of study at the William Penn Charter School. That fall, at the age of 16, he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At MIT, the study of chemistry occupied much of his time, but he also pursued other 40

subjects introducing skills that would be of practical use. Pierre was glad that he was pursuing chemistry and not civil engineering, which his classmates had found difficult. However, evaluating his MIT studies in 1902, he noted that he would have profited from the study of mechanical engineering, construction work, business method, law, bookkeeping, and accounting. He had found use for every subject studied at the Institute, “excepting military drill. Probably a number have profited by this also.”

Pierre spent his summer vacations at home in Philadelphia or visiting relatives down on the Brandywine. A seasonal highlight was always a few weeks spent at Cape May, New Jersey. For the summer of 1889, however, his mother proposed an extended, three-month trip to Europe for the entire family. The proposal came as an unexpected but thrilling opportunity.

“If I had been run over by a steam roller,”

wrote Pierre from Boston, “I could not have been more prostrated with surprise than I was by the latest plan for next summer.

Of course it has struck me very favorably and thrown me into a great state of excitement.

I am sure that we would have a splendid time….” Coincidentally, he had dreamt of such a trip just a few nights before.

Mrs. du Pont, her ten children, and two maids sailed May 25, 1889, from New York on the Cunard ship Etruria and landed in Queenstown, Ireland, on June 1. They toured Irish castles and abbeys before arriving in London on June 10. There, they visited most of the popular attractions, including the zoo and several of the famous London parks, and they made two trips to the Crystal Palace to see the fireworks.

The Crystal Palace was one of the marvels of the 19th century. Originally erected in Hyde Park in 1851, it reopened in Sydenham, a London suburb about 8 miles to the south, in 1854. As rebuilt and enlarged using

Left: The 1889 Expo stretched across the Seine, from the Palais de Trocadero (far left) to the Galerie des Machines (far right). The horticultural exhibits were outside the Trocadero: four compartment gardens with 107 beds each with 100,000 plants from 100 exhibitors; 14 kiosks; two 250-foot display tents; a Japanese garden; and exhibits of conservatories, ornamentals, vegetables, fruits, forest seeds and saplings, and hothouse plants. There were also gardens around the Eiffel Tower. Hagley Museum and Library.

Below: This 1889 Expo map was saved by Pierre and presumably used for his four visits. The Trocadero gardens, shown at the bottom right, were actually located off the left edge of the map, across the Seine. Hagley Museum and Library.

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Above left and below: The vast Crystal Palace, c.1860s, at Sydenham was filled with plants that were greatly reduced in number after most of the tropical north end burned in 1866. The rest of the building was destroyed by fire in 1936. Library of Congress.

Above: The 1889 Galerie des Machines at the Paris Expo was 1,452 × 380 × 148 feet high. It was demolished in 1910. Library of Congress.

prefabricated, standardized building parts in a highly complex structure, it contained a winter garden, caged birds, scientific and art displays, and products for sale. The building, 1,608 x 312 x 104 feet high and crossed by three transepts up to 384 feet long and 168 feet tall, was 50 percent larger in volume than its Hyde Park predecessor, but one-fifth was destroyed by an 1866 fire that eliminated most of the tropical conservatory.

It was conceived to provide education and recreation for all, with fine arts courts creating a walk-through encyclopedia of the history of civilization. By 1889, it was still an exhibition hall and museum but also more of a commercial shopping arcade.

Outside, a huge, brassy fountain garden of 11,788 jets and streams had been built by 1856, which required so much water and was so expensive to operate that the largest features had been abandoned by the time of Pierre’s visit. But the fireworks were still going strong: there were 1,500 displays from 42

1865 to 1936, and the pyrotechnics were credited with helping maintain the park financially. There were ground-level set pieces up to 600 feet wide and 90 feet tall that created fiery portraits and animated tableaux; and “living fireworks” with men in asbestos suits scurrying around ablaze with more than sparklers. Pierre and five of his family visited on June 20 and he and three others returned on July 4, both Thursday fireworks nights, to see the pyrotechnics; they also lunched there on the first visit and bought admission tickets, so they must have toured the inside of the Palace. Pierre had to have been amazed by the monumental building.

After a week spent touring the countryside and castles of Scotland, the du Ponts arrived in Paris on July 8.

Paris in 1889 was the center of the world. “L’Exposition Universelle,” symbolized by the Eiffel Tower, was the greatest ever held. Nineteen-year-old

Pierre was especially eager to see the “Ex” because, he noted, it would “not come again in a hurry.” Fortunately, he was able to make four trips to the Fair.

The Champ de Mars was filled with giant exhibition halls, none more impressive than the Galerie des Machines, the largest freespan vaulted building yet constructed. Its 20 acres of usable space were filled with the era’s latest machinery. Smaller but still massive connecting buildings were devoted to diverse industries, the liberal arts, and beaux arts.

Among the great attractions at the Exposition were les fontaines lumineuses, the illuminated fountains that used the latest lighting technology. These played three times a night to immense crowds.

There were endless other things to see besides the Expo. The du Ponts visited Versailles and Fontainebleau then continued through northern Italy, Switzerland, Germany, then back to Britain where they departed from Liverpool on

Left: The Columbian Arch and Peristyle at the Chicago fair, photographed here by Pierre du Pont, had 48 Corinthian columns representing all 48 states and territories as of 1893. It was destroyed by fire in 1894. Much of the fair was built of 30,000 tons of staff, a mixture of gypsum or plaster, plus glycerin, dextrin, water, and hemp or jute fibers on iron or wood frames, then spray painted to look like marble, useful for temporary exhibition buildings. It was a major architectural material used to create neo-classical detailing in fairs Pierre visited from 1889 to 1904. Hagley Museum and Library.

Above: The $300,000 Horticulture Building, designed by William Le Baron Jenney for the 1893 Chicago fair, was 998 × 250 × 113 feet high, plus eight attached greenhouses 100 × 24 feet, totaling six acres under glass (compared to 31.5 indoor acres for the nearby Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building). Inside was a planted palm mountain atop a 10-cents-to-enter crystal cave, studded with South Dakota rocks, plus forests of plants, fruits, and vegetables from around the world, including 16,000 orchids, a 35-foot-tall navel orange tower, and displays of European wines. Library of Congress.

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August 31. It was the grandest of trips, which cost $5,917.39 (more than $150,000 today) exclusive of passage across the Atlantic.

Following graduation in 1890 from MIT, Pierre secured employment with the DuPont Company. His mother took this opportunity to move her family back to the Brandywine and built a house there, called “Saint Amour.” Pierre was overseer on this project, both for building the house and for laying out the garden.

In 1893, 23-year-old Pierre visited Chicago and its spectacular World’s Columbian Exposition that commemorated, albeit a year late, the 400th anniversary of the “discovery” of America. He was overwhelmed by the grandiose effects. He wrote to a cousin: “I am enjoying the Fair immensely, there is so much of beauty and interest that one can hardly decide to what to devote the time. The large buildings are magnificent beyond description, it is a lasting enjoyment to look at them alone.

I only regret that they must so soon go and that, comparatively, so very few have been able to see them. I do not wonder that the Chicago people are proud of their city and the Fair.”

He was especially impressed by the huge central space around which the main buildings were grouped and by the electric fountains at one end. After dark, 5,100 arc lamps and 90,000 electric lights everywhere created, for 1893, a spectacle without precedent. As he noted in 1938, “This great court with its impressive, glistening white buildings of Grecian order and its magnificent water courses and fountains has not been equaled in any exposition held since that date.”

Architectural historians have noted that the neo-classical style of the Fair delayed acceptance of more forward-looking modern architecture, as evidenced by numerous post-Fair classical buildings in Washington DC and other cities. But Pierre loved Chicago’s glorious architectural look back, and he would embrace simplified versions for his future building projects at Longwood in the upcoming century.

The conclusion of Part One: The Seed is Planted will appear in the next issue of the Longwood Chimes.

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Above: The Chicago site had 61 acres of lagoons and waterways. There were 14 great buildings and 200 smaller structures.

The Court of Honor with its two Electric Fountains is left of the immense central 1,687 Ă— 787-foot Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building.

The Horticulture Building is above the center 16-acre Wooded Island. At the center top is the world’s first Ferris wheel. Library of Congress.

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Horticulture

Array of Light 46

A spark of creativity and a plethora of details bring Luminary Nights to life.

By Patricia Evans

View from top of the Chimes Tower of the June 2018 luminary installation. More than 2,000 luminaries were placed on the Chimes Tower Lawn, aligned on a 45-degree axis to the orientation of the Main Fountain Garden. Photo

by Hank Davis.

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Left: Guests walking amongst the concentric rings of the August 2017 luminary installation adjacent to the Theatre Garden. This design was inspired by the ripple pattern raindrops make when falling into water. Photo by Carol DeGuiseppi.

Opposite: Working image board in designer Erin Feeney’s office, featuring inspirational imagery along with conceptual sketches for projects and installations.

Photo by Daniel Traub.

A moment of inspiration is often visually represented by a glowing lightbulb above one’s head. For Erin Feeney, our Associate Director of Landscape Architecture and Programs, her most recent inspiration involved more than 3,000 points of light.

Feeney led the team that brought to life one of our newest displays, Luminary Nights, which first debuted in summer 2017.

While luminaries have been used throughout history around the world for decorative and symbolic purposes, we had never used them en masse in our gardens.

After staff saw a luminary display during a visit to the French garden Vaux le Vicomte in 2016, Feeney was asked to think about how to bring such an experience to Longwood.

“The direction was to think big,” Feeney explains. So she did, compiling an interdisciplinary team to begin researching everything from possible garden locations, to what kind of light source to use, to how far apart to space the luminaries.

The team began by speaking with other gardens who did luminary displays including Vaux le Vicomte and Desert Botanical Garden. Desert Botanical, based in Phoenix, has presented a luminary display during the holiday season for many years. They shared tricks of the trade and lessons learned, including how to construct a clever 48

lighting device that boasts a constant flame when ignited and a long handle so one does not have to bend over to light each luminary. They also shared their experience with luminary logistics—and there are many—such as how long it takes to light the luminaries (about two hours with eight people), how many people are required for set up and take down (20–25), and much more.

The team also conducted a number of small, onsite trials that proved enlightening, so to speak. They looked at a number of light sources, from battery-operated LED lights to wax candles, before deciding that a real flame provided the purest light, settling on an 8-hour tealight candle. They also explored a number of different containers and bags for the candles to sit in before selecting a cream-colored reusable plastic container that showcased the glowing light most effectively. “In the end, it always comes back to the aesthetic,” Feeney explains.

One of the trickiest things to figure out was how to weigh the containers down so they would not be easily dislodged by a light wind, or the accidental jostle of a guest passing by. Sand is traditionally used, Feeney explains, but there was concern about filling the bags and the sand spilling out if a bag was overturned. Our masons suggested

“I had spaces in mind where we could use strong lines and geometric shapes to contrast the organic gardens…”

—Erin Feeney, Associate Director of Landscape Architecture and Programs, Longwood Gardens

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Above: A pre-nightfall view of guests exploring the June 2018 luminary installation on the Chimes Tower Lawn.

Photo by Hank Davis.

Left: Erin Feeney reviews CAD plans as she directs volunteers and students with the luminary installation on the Cow Lot, August 2017.

Photo by Morgan Horell.

Right: View inside of a luminary reusable plastic container shows 8-hour tealight set in polymeric sand.

Photo by Morgan Horell.

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polymeric sand, which sets solid when water is added. Horticulturist and luminary team member Darren Rutledge worked out the details and the problem was solved. The bags were filled once with the polymeric sand, water added, and are now stored, solid sand in place, ready to be used again and again.

Perhaps the biggest decision facing the team was where to place the luminaries in the gardens. “Many factors went into that decision,” Feeney explains. The space has to accommodate crowds, it has to be accessible, and there has to be lighting beyond the luminaries for safety, among other considerations. Feeney also realized that topography played an important role, knowing that the luminaries would best be appreciated if they were able to be both immersive for guests and also viewed from above. “We also wanted to punctuate areas of the gardens that guests might not interact with often, or add another element to a well-known experience,” Feeney explains.

For the inaugural luminary event, the team selected the large lawn as you enter the Gardens, known as the Cow Lot, and the Theatre Garden area and nearby Flower Garden Walk. For the Cow Lot, Feeney devised a design that featured nearly 700 luminaries in a sunburst pattern that entices guests to journey to the center of the open lawn from where they could experience 48 rays aligned perfectly in all directions. “I had spaces in mind where we could use strong lines and geometric shapes to contrast the organic gardens, “ Feeney explains, noting

that patterns found in garden elements, including gates, benches, and architecture, also played a role. The Theatre Garden and Flower Garden Walk site offered both a traditional approach to luminaries, with many elegantly lining the 600-foot-long Flower Garden Walk, and a more elaborate design in the grassy area below the Theatre Garden, which was inspired by the ripple pattern raindrops make when falling into water, featuring overlapping groups of concentric circles.

A combination of 25 staff, students, and volunteers assisted with mapping the design to the turf, setting up the 3,000 bags, and inserting and lighting the tealight luminaries. Each evening the luminaries would burn themselves out (the reason to select an 8-hour tealight) and a new tealight would be swapped in the next day.

In all, about 300 hours were required to set up, light, and maintain the display over the three evenings.

More than 30,000 guests attended the inaugural luminary weekend that spanned a picturesque Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening in August 2017. Many lessons were learned from that first experience.

“We saw that guests were equally enchanted by the opportunity to walk among the luminaries as they were to simply stroll along a luminary-lined path,” Feeney says. “At first, guests were not sure they could walk on the Cow Lot, but once a few ventured in, more guests followed and made their way to the center.”

The spacing of the luminaries also revealed some considerations. The 10-foot spacing between luminaries on the on the Cow Lot allowed guests to move among them with ease, but the 2-foot spacing in the Theatre Garden resulted in more than a few luminaries being displaced out of position.

We treat our Luminary Nights as “popup” events, meaning we do not share the display dates until we know the weather will cooperate for us to successfully put on the display. And the weather requirements are stringent. Rain, obviously, is a non-starter, and even a gentle breeze can wreak havoc with luminaries. “Our threshold for wind,” Feeney ponders …“basically there isn’t one,” she says with a laugh.

Since that first display in August 2017, we have staged luminaries in our Italian Water Garden, Large Lake area, Chimes Tower, and surrounding lawn. Each display has boasted an original design by Feeney encompassing around 3,000 luminaries.

Does she have a favorite? “I hope my favorite is yet to come,” she says, “but the Cow Lot is currently my favorite … I loved the experience of journeying to the center and even if you didn’t make the journey, you could enjoy it from the berm.”

Feeney has more grand designs up her sleeve for future displays including some extravagant, non-linear patterns drawn from botanical inspiration that will certainly prove challenging to implement. But one can’t help but assume that Feeney and the luminary team won’t be in the dark for long.

Right: View of luminary installation at the Italian Water Garden shows the “fine edge” treatment used to delineate the pools and fountains. Photo

by Eileen Tercha.

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End Notes

Remembering William H. Frederick, Jr. We were saddened by the passing of William H. Frederick, Jr., 91, on August 15, 2018. Frederick, an acclaimed landscape architect and passionate plantsman, served on the Board of Trustees beginning in 1970, when Longwood Gardens was first incorporated as a separate institution, until 2006, and was its first President from 1970 to 1980. He also served on the Trustee Advisory Committee from 1986 to 2006 and headed its Landscape Subcommittee.

He was a dedicated horticulturist and landscape designer who created great awareness of plant selection and enhanced garden design at Longwood. He was responsible for bringing leading landscape architects to create imaginative enhancements and gardens, especially Thomas Church, Sir Peter Shepheard, Roberto Burle Marx, Conrad Hamerman, and the firm of Reed Hilderbrand LLC, a tradition that continues to this day.

Frederick welcomed students and staff to his home and glorious garden, Ashland Hollow, and freely shared his experience and opinions, much of which has fortunately been captured in his several books.

We are very grateful to have benefited from Frederick’s 36 years of dedicated service. He set a standard of excellence that his successors have tried to emulate and was instrumental in helping Longwood preserve its past and also build a promising future.

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Clockwise from top left: Letterhead of William H. Frederick, Jr.’s landscape design firm, Private Gardens, Incorporated, which he founded in 1971; cover of Millcreek Nursery 1952–1976, A Brief History by William Frederick, Jr., 2001; page

from Wrestling with Angels and Singing with Dragons, the Making of a Garden Across 45 Years by William H. Frederick, Jr., 2015; cover of Modern Gardens and the Landscape, revised edition by Elizabeth B. Kassler, 1984, a book influential to Frederick,

featuring gardens by Frank Lloyd Wright, Isamu Noguchi, Luis Barragán, Roberto Burle Marx, and other modernist designers; Frederick on the cover of Longwood Chimes #263, 2007. Longwood Gardens Library & Archives.

Photo by Daniel Traub.

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Longwood Chimes

No. 298 Winter 2019

Front Cover Dried seedheads of Anemone tomentosa (Chinese anemone).

Photo by David Ward.

Back Cover Clockwise from top left: Dried seed capsules of Pycnanthemum muticum (clustered mountain-mint); Dried seed capsules of Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master); dried seed pods of Cercis canadensis (Eastern redbud); dried seed capsules of Canna glauca (Longwood hybrid aquatic canna). Photos

by David Ward.

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Inside Covers Inside Front: Western Hubei in Central China is sacred ground for plant explorers. This ruggedly mountainous region contains a staggering diversity of temperate plant species. In September 2018, Longwood Gardens participated in a multi-institutional plant exploration expedition to western Hubei with partners from the United States and China, walking in the footsteps of some of history’s greatest plant explorers.

This highly successful expedition resulted in a variety of seed collections from both woody and herbaceous species (shown here). These specimens will be placed into specific propagation protocols, carefully tended by the Research and Conservation division staff. Once they have reached a suitable state of development, they enter an internal evaluation process for possible inclusion in future collections and displays.

Inside back: These thimblesized test tubes contain thousands of tiny, dust-like orchid seeds. Researchers at Longwood Gardens are using these seeds to conduct research on propagation and cultivation of orchids native to Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic. In the tissue culture laboratory, specifically formulated media are used to serve as a substitute for the fungus necessary for seed germination. If this doesn’t work, symbiotic germination is being tested as an alternative. This cutting-edge technique involves harvesting the fungus from the roots of a mature wild orchid, growing it in our tissue culture laboratory, and then introducing the seeds to the fungus cultures. Photos

by Daniel Traub.

Editorial Board Marnie Conley Patricia Evans Steve Fenton Julie Landgrebe Katie Mobley Colvin Randall Noël Raufaste David Sleasman James S. Sutton Matt Taylor, Ph.D. Brian W. Trader, Ph.D.

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

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

Contributors This Issue Longwood Staff and Volunteer Contributors Kristina Aguilar Plant Records Manager Hank Davis Volunteer Photographer Carol DeGuiseppi Volunteer Photographer Maureen McCadden Digital Resource Specialist Judy Stevenson Archivist Eileen Tercha Volunteer Photographer David Ward Volunteer Photographer Other Contributors Larry Albee Photographer Lynn Schuessler Copyeditor Daniel Traub Photographer Susan E. Yoder Writer

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. © 2019 Longwood Gardens.

All rights reserved.

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“To see things in the seed, that is genius.”

—Lao Tzu

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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