Longwood Gardens—After meticulous restoration and an innovative transformation, our new Orchid House serves as the first realization of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience … and we are thrilled to share the preservation and expansion of this beloved, century-old space with you.
About This Garden
Transformed into an open, gallery-like space—boasting a new glass roof to restored interior and exterior concrete—our Orchid House provides an immersive orchid-viewing experience like never before. Hundreds of orchids lovingly displayed in custom frame trellises and our restored bronze case dazzle and delight, showcasing the beauty and diversity of our renowned orchid collection. With our curated orchids hand-selected five times per week for rotating display, there’s always something new—and something breathtakingly beautiful—to see.
Our restored Orchid House also sheds light on our dedication to save endangered orchid species both near and far. Through our Orchid Conservation Program, we have developed the technology to grow large seedling populations of native orchids for the purpose of restoring native orchid populations, in our backyard and far beyond
It’s of utmost importance to us that we match the new Orchid House concrete to the existing concrete and stucco surfaces of the Conservatory. To ensure this match, we have engaged with local preservation experts John Milner Architects (whom we worked with on the restoration of the Webb Farmhouse), concrete expert Robert Armbruster, Bancroft Construction Company, and many others to perform a petrographic concrete analysis to identify the original makeup of the concrete and stucco, and then identify new mixes for the new concrete.
Upon completion of the House, guests will even be able to experience the beauty of our orchids from within as well as from outside of its walls. The botanical lines of its new custom trellis frames, as well as the colorful blooms of the orchids placed within those fames, will be able to be seen through the glass—allowing for a unique perspective and viewpoint of the space within.
From the relocation of the historic bronze case to the precise matching of its concrete, our expanded and preserved Orchid House serves as a fantastic opportunity to better display our orchid collection, honor the du Ponts’ dedication to orchids, and continue our excellent care of this collection, its legacy, and all it means to us … and you. We look forward to our preserved and expanded Orchid House’s reopening with much anticipation and gratitude for the chance to transform this space into something even better. Given the Orchid House’s importance to our legacy—and to our hearts—we can’t imagine a more fitting space to serve as the first expression of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience. We can’t wait to stand alongside you (and alongside hundreds of vibrant, thriving orchids!) in this preserved, expanded, and even more beautiful space.