Longwood Gardens invites its army of plant lovers to warm up to the holiday season with a display of 500,500 LED lights, beginning Friday.
Tickets are available now for the annual “A Longwood Christmas” exhibit. Timed tickets are required and daily slots (Monday through Sunday) are from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Bear in mind, tickets sell quickly for this event, especially for weekends. If you don’t want to end up like a weeping willow, you should start making plans to get yours soon.
This year’s exhibit theme is “Botanical Splendor” and it morphs Longwood’s Conservatory and outdoor gardens into a winter fairytale.
This new wonderland appears to have sprung from the whimsical imagination of Santa Claus if he teamed up with the fashion juggernaut Gucci.
For many, touring “A Longwood Christmas” is a tradition that makes their holiday season feel complete. This festive family affair offers memorable decorations, dazzling lights, dancing fountains, crackling firepits and more.
“It’s the perfect way to make holiday memories with the special people in your life and really is a beloved holiday tradition in the Delaware Valley,” Longwood spokesperson Jourdan Cole said.
Below are some wild numbers to keep in mind about Longwood and this year’s holiday exhibit.
‘A Longwood Christmas’ by the numbers
- 1.6 million guests are estimated to have attended/to attend Longwood in 2022
- 572,000 guests visited during the holiday season in 2021
- 500,500 LED Christmas lights are on display
- 5,924 poinsettias are on view
- 3,000 hours is close to how long it takes to install lights
- 1957 is the first year Longwood opened its Christmas celebration
- 400 acres of garden is accessible to the public
- 200 glass mushroom ornaments outside the Music Room pay homage to the legacy of mushroom production in the region
- 150 Christmas trees are part of this year’s holiday show
- 125 days (24 hours per day) is close to how long it took to install lights
- 100 ornaments feature handmade decorations on a tree in the Silver Garden
- 75 outdoor trees feature illuminated stars
- 60 hand-carved gourd lights adorn the Wildlife Tree
- 3 hours is about how long it takes to see most of the gardens at Longwood
- 3 large aluminum cone trees that are each 40 feet tall and weigh 1,300 pounds
Best Botanical Garden contest
Longwood is in the running to be named the Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights display in the country in a contest by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Longwood has won it four times so far.
“A Longwood Christmas” (Longwood Gardens, 1001 Longwood Road, near Kennett Square, Pennsylvania) is open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday starting Friday, Nov. 18, until Sunday, Jan. 8. (Longwood is also open on Christmas.) Tickets are up to $30 each. For more info, visit longwoodgardens.org or (610) 388-1000.
Delaware stories
Longwood Gardens travel guide: What you need to know if you go
Holiday planning:Got turkey? These Delaware restaurants offering Thanksgiving dinner and takeout sure do
Slice of tradition:6 places to score tasty pies for your Delaware Thanksgiving
Actress from ‘Black Panther’: She lives in tiny Delaware
One vegan burger is like a Big Mac:7 restaurants in Delaware w/ vegan options
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
