'Prettiest botanical garden in the world' is right in Delaware's backyard
For lovers of nature and all things botanical, the world’s most beautiful site may be closer to your own backyard.
Longwood Gardens has been named the most beautiful botanical garden in the world by U.K. travel website TitanTravel.
The site used tags and mentions from TikTok and Instagram social media pages and search data from websites like TripAdvisor and Google to come to the final conclusion. Longwood Gardens holds a five-star review rating on Trip Advisor and was the subject of 3.2 million Google searches from April 2023 to March 2024, a 22.2% increase in the past two years, according to the site.
Longwood Gardens also had the highest volume of posts on social media out of the gardens considered, with 307,185 Instagram posts and 6,096 TikTok mentions, ranking it higher than some of the world’s most iconic gardens like Shinjuku Gyo-en in Tokyo and Pukekura Park in New Zealand.
Longwood Gardens is known regionally for its beautiful displays of biodiversity (with over 10,000 species and varieties of plants) sprawling over its 1,100 acres; but now with a world title under its belt, major renovations underway and seasonal events available, it may be time to revisit Longwood Gardens before the summer ends.
Longwood Reimagined
The ambitious renovation plan known as Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, will redesign 17 acres of the garden’s conservatory and grounds.
Opening Nov. 22 of this year, the project includes an expansion of the grounds and will connect the east and west wings of the main garden. The hallmark of this project is a new 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory made entirely of glass panels and pools, gardens and fountains designed by Reed Hilderbrand. A new Bonsai Courtyard is also being planned and built next to the new West Conservatory.
Additionally, the beloved Cascade Garden will be reconstructed and relocated, the Waterlily Court will be refreshed and new restaurant and event spaces also make up just a portion of the work undergone in this $250 million endeavor.
Delaware Online/The News Journal got a sneak peek of the project’s progress in October; it is now less than four months away from making its global debut.
Longwood's summer events
Longwood’s Garden’s six different “districts” and hundreds of walkable acres filled with thousands of different plant species have extended hours in the summer months.
Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays its doors are open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Thursday through Saturday the gardens are open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. and the gardens are closed on Tuesdays. Daily fares for adults run around $33.
But gallivanting through the beautiful natural landscapes aren’t the only thing to look forward to this summer. Until Oct. 27, Longwood Gardens will celebrate its Festival of Fountains, a series of themed fountain performances and related events.
“Our gardens are an inviting symphony of color, beauty, and entertainment during the summer,” said Longwood President & CEO Paul B. Redman. “From our amazing fountain shows to our inspiring gardens, to our world-class performances, to the new garden spaces we’re excited to share with our guests, there is something for everyone at Longwood.”
After a two-year hiatus, guests can watch the shows from the Conservatory Outlook, which has been redesigned to include tiered vistas and yellowwood trees to walk through while observing the water shows below.
This summer marked the return of the Fireworks & Fountains Shows, which combines the light shows of fireworks with the choreographed theatrics of the fountains all set behind a curated playlist blasted through an enhanced sound system. There are only three events remaining (the Saturday, Aug. 10, event is sold out), and tickets for a seat reservation range from $50 to $75, and themes feature music from Adele, Italian classics and more.
There are even more fountain spectacles to see this summer at Longwood Gardens that come free with garden admission.
The Main Fountain Garden has daily fountain show displays until Wednesday, Aug. 28, with over 1,700 jets shooting water hundreds of feet into the air in sync to the music behind it. Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays the shows start at 11:15 a.m. and repeat every two hours until 5:15 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays the shows follow the same schedule, but add an 8:15 p.m. display.
There is also just about a month left in Longwood Gardens’ Illuminated Fountain performances, a nighttime special that elevates the daily fountain show into a display of water, lights and music. The show takes place Thursdays through Saturdays at 9:15 p.m. and is free with the price of garden admission. The show takes around 30 minutes and is set to different themes each day ranging from Broadway hits to Dolly Parton and everything in between.
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Festive Fridays are also back in play this summer and pair perfectly the illuminated fountain performances with concessions, live themed entertainment and more. Guests can climb to the top of the Chimes Tower for a close-up view of Longwood's 62-bell carillon. There are three remaining this year, the next one being held Friday, Aug. 16, and abiding by a theme inspired by The Beatles.
Before the fountain shows on Thursdays through Saturdays is live music in Longwood Gardens’s beer garden from 6 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. (although many upcoming performances are scheduled to end at 7:30 p.m.).
There are constantly events taking place at Longwood Gardens, including more live performances at its Open Air Theater, so before you take your next trip, check out their website to make sure you aren’t missing out!
Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Longwood Gardens named 'prettiest botanical garden in the world'