Plan Your Visit

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Autumn's Colors – September 8 through November 18, 2012

Reconnect with nature amid the glowing reds, golds, and oranges of fall. As autumn’s chill sets in, escape to our warm conservatory where horticultural feats abound as thousands of colorful chrysanthemums are grown to form shields, arches, spirals and more.

Hundreds of acres of  glowing reds, brilliant golds and bright oranges of nature’s foliage will envelop you. A Garden Railway featuring G-gauge trains set amid natural, in-scale landscapes will charm you.

During the Chrysanthemum Festival, October 27–November 18, see the largest chrysanthemum in North America, the Thousand Bloom Mum, with more than 1,000 blooms. Find out more about Longwood's largest-ever thousand bloom chrysanthemum. See a video about the making of Longwood's 2009 thousand bloom chrysanthemum on Youtube. Tens of thousands of colorful, blooming chrysanthemums flourish in the palatial Conservatory.

The Curious Cucurbits display in the Idea Garden features pumpkins, GIANT pumpkins (weighing up to 800 pounds!) squash, and gourds, which are members of the Cucurbitaceae family. Ranging in size, color, and shape, these autumnal fruits provide a festive backdrop for photos of family and friends.

Horticultural highlights this season:
Please note that actual bloom times may vary depending on weather. The list of flowering highlights is subject to change.

General Indoor Highlights

• Asters
• Cannas
• Chrysanthemums
• Coleus
• Hamelias
• Lollipop-plant (Pachystachys lutea)
• Mexican Sage (Salvia)
• Ornamental Peppers
• Otacanthus (Otacanthus coeruleus)
• Spurflower (Plectranthus)

General Outdoor Highlights

• Berried Shrubs
• Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis)
• Butterfly-bush (Buddleja)
• Chrysanthemums
• Day-flowering and Night-flowering Waterlilies (Nymphaea)
• Fall crocus
• Fall foliage
• Franklinia (Franklinia alatamaha)
• Fruit trees
• Gourds (Cucurbita)
• Ivy Geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)
• Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
• Ornamental Grasses
• Roses
• Sages (Salvia)
• Vegetables
• Water-platters (Victoria)
• Wildflowers