At Longwood, mums to offer shout-out to color

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on October 18, 2014

Visitors to Longwood Gardens early this week will see an uncommon sight: lots of buds. However, by Saturday, Oct. 25 - as if on cue - they will become a profusion of vibrant hues as more than 80,000 chrysanthemums take center stage.

The annual Chrysanthemum Festival at the gardens will run through Nov. 23, transforming the four-acre conservatory into a riot of color. Giant mum baskets will hang in the Exhibition Hall and Orangery, and tens of thousands of chrysanthemums will command attention, having been trained into cascades, towering 6-foot-tall specimens, tiny bonsai, and more.

At Longwood Gardens, some of the outdoor mums are already in full bloom; however, the inside specimens will burst into color for the Chrysanthemum Festival, which opens Saturday.

The focal point of the display will be the “Thousand Bloom” mum, which boasts more than 1,300 uniform blooms on one plant. Longwood is one of the few places in the world where this growing technique is still practiced, according to a Longwood press release.

In addition to the chrysanthemum spectacle, which is free with garden admission, visitors can enjoy the newly-expanded 86-acre Meadow Garden, currently featuring late-blooming goldenrod, native asters and meadow grasses; and the popular Garden Railway, a display of G-scale model trains that was relocated near the Birdhouse Treehouse.

Longwood Gardens, which encompasses1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, meadows, fountains, a 10,010-pipe Aeolian organ and 4.5-acre conservatory, is open daily. For more information, visit www.longwoodgardens.org or call 610-388-1000.