Sunset Stories at Longwood

Our lecture series have hosted a veritable who's who of leading authorities and experts. These experts have helped define our gardens in a variety of ways through their unique interpretations.

This year we present five different stories and new interpretations. These stories will be defined by their drama, mystery, adventure; some may take a "how to" approach and some will lead you down different paths. Each story will increase your understanding of different horticultural worlds.

Come for a sunset stroll through Longwood's Conservatory, a presentation in the beautiful Ballroom, followed by a scrumptious treat. Don’t miss out on the information, the fun, the beauty, the experience, and the story!

Come and listen to our stories:

Deceit and Deception: The Orchid Pollination Story

DATE: Friday, March 6; 7:00 pm
FEE: $19 passholder; $24 non-passholder
WHERE: Ballroom
CODE: 091SLDDE

with Thomas J. Mirenda

The story you will hear this evening is a mystery. Orchids are mysterious in their ability to dazzle us with their beauty and diversity of form, fragrance, and color. The plot thickens as orchids take advantage of the behavior of insects, birds, and other pollinators and appear to be something they’re not.

It’s estimated that fully one third of all orchid species use some form of “deceit” to manipulate pollinators into doing their bidding, often without any pollen or nectar reward for their efforts. Tom Mirenda will explain the wily ways in which orchids have managed to ‘have their way’ with pollinators as diverse as fungus gnats, butterflies, honeycreepers and, gasp, human beings! Join us this evening to solve the mysteries of mating deceptions, pseudocopulation, co-evolution with pollinators, and other methods of species isolation.

Our evening story teller is an enthusiastic orchid grower and promoter. Even though he studied Marine Biology (the world’s most impractical major) at Occidental College, he always returned to horticulture as a hobby and eventually a career. Working at some of the east coast’s most cherished botanic gardens and private estates, Tom’s interest in orchids has influenced him to travel extensively throughout Latin America, and he is an expert on the orchids of Costa Rica and Panama. Tom is the Museum Specialist for the Orchid Collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The collection is an extremely diverse assemblage of species and hybrids from all over the world, collected for their educational, conservation, and ornamental value. He is responsible for supplying blooming plants year round for the Smithsonian’s many horticultural displays, including its annual, 5-month Orchid Exhibition.

After the story, you’re invited to investigate the conservatory to find the culprits, while enjoying a sumptuous dessert buffet.

The Drama: Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

DATE: Friday, April 3; 7:00 pm
FEE: $19 passholder; $24 non-passholder
WHERE: Ballroom
CODE: 091SLCCE

with Dennis van Engelsdorp

Any great drama rivets your attention and poses the question “what if?” The drama that will unfold this evening focuses on the fact that we tend to take bees for granted; and for many people, the most common engagement with them is shooing them away. Rarely do we recognize the important role they play in our food and flower production.

In recent years, an interesting and alarming phenomenon named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has emerged. Honey bees are mysteriously vanishing across the country, putting $15 billion worth of fruits, nuts, and vegetables at risk! In this lecture, important topics such as the potential causes of CCD will be discussed, and questions will be raised about what life would be like without our most widely used pollinator.

The storyteller tonight is Dennis van Engelsdorp. Dennis started keeping bees after taking an undergraduate course in beekeeping at the University of Guelph, in Canada. Once “stung,” he pursued a master’s degree in apiculture, studying Buckfast bees and honeybee tracheal mites. In the West Indies, working for the Canadian Government, he served as a consultant to the Antigua Beekeepers Cooperative. Dennis helped develop Cornell University’s master beekeeping program. He is currently  employed as the Acting State Apiarist for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through a contract with Penn State University. A founding member of the colony collapse working group, Dennis spends considerable time investigating this latest threat to honey bee populations.

After the story you’re invited to buzz around the conservatory, while enjoying sweet treats.

The "How-to" Story

In Step: American Institute of Floral Designers

DATE: Wednesday, April 29; 7:00 pm
FEE: $19 passholder; $24 non-passholder
WHERE: Ballroom
CODE: 091SLFDE

with Ted Bruehl, AIFD Membership Chairman

In Step with AIFD is designed to take you on a journey through the Accreditation Evaluation Session to become a member of AIFD. This process helps you with your personal growth and will acknowledge your design talent. This is an opportunity for membership that leads to networking and career choices. This step by step process explains the membership testing in great detail, discusses the evaluation process, and demonstrates the proper floral designs based on the elements and principles of design.

Watch beauty come to life with design demonstrations that reflect the latest trends in the floral industry. See state-of-the-art floral products used in arrangements and techniques that represent elements and principles of design. The evening’s designs will be critiqued, using the evaluation standards for membership into this acclaimed organization.

Leading us through the design demonstration is Ted Bruehl, AIFD. Ted was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) in 1993 and is design manager for The Chocolate Rose in Irving, TX. His career path is really a “how to” story. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and had a previous career as a classical musician. Ted entered the floral industry as a driver in his aunt’s shop in his native Norman, OK. Wanting to design rather than drive, he attended the Shelton School of Floral Design in Houston TX and then went on to gain experience in party work and floral installations in Washington, D.C. He is now back in Texas. Ted has designed for floral shows throughout the world.

Fresh flowers are the main characters in this “how-to” story. After the story you’re invited to give your own review while enjoying wine and Italian cheeses in the Conservatory.

The AIFD Guide to Floral Design is available following the lecture.

A Travelogue: A Taste of Honey

DATE: Thursday, September 24; 7:00 pm
FEE: $19 passholder; $24 non-passholder
WHERE: Ballroom
CODE: 091SLCUE

with Jim Bobb and Jill Clark

Spend the evening “traveling” to different regions of the United States and learning the delicate variations each area lends to honey and honey wine “mead”. Become a budding honey connoisseur as you join us for an introduction to the subtleties of honey; concentrating on regionally influenced taste, textures, bouquet, and color of honey. Hear about beekeeping and honey making from a local beekeeper’s perspective and then fly around the country with your eye on flavor. Understand the endless possibilities as you hear about regional influences and the differences encountered from state to state. Raspberry, blueberry, and cranberry become “state” associated flavors. Honey from Florida tastes different from Wyoming and South Dakota honey. Tonight “Longwood is the place to Bee”!

Growing up in a beekeeping family, Jill Clark spent many hours tending the bees and extracting honey with her father. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Pittsburgh and earned a Masters degree at Ohio State University. In 1988, Jill traveled across Pennsylvania, sharing her love for honey and beekeeping with the public as the Pennsylvania Honey Queen. The following year, she extended her reach to include the entire country, as the American Honey Princess, with the support of the American Beekeeping Federation. Jill is now employed by Dutch Gold Honey, Inc.

Jim Bobb runs over 140 hives at various local arboreta and area public gardens. He is the Chairman of the Board for the Eastern Apiculture Society and served as the president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College and his graduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Penn State Master Gardener and teaches horticulture classes at Longwood Gardens, the Barnes Foundation, and Montgomery County Cooperative Extension Service. Jim is active in the Mid-Atlantic Hardy Plant Society.

Think LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! as you taste regional varieties of honey paired with treats from our chef in the beautiful Conservatory.

A Thoughtful Adventure Story: The Authentic Garden

DATE: Wednesday, October 21; 7:00 pm
FEE: $19 passholder; $24 non-passholder
WHERE: Ballroom
CODE: 092SLAGE

with Claire Sawyers

Working in one’s garden is always an adventure, and the development of a garden is a life long  commitment. Our story teller tonight asks “What makes a garden ‘authentic’?” For American gardeners, this question can be vexing. Because America is a comparatively young nation, it hasn’t had much time to develop an indigenous garden style. Gardeners have therefore tended to turn to other national traditions—such as Italy’s, Japan’s, or England’s—for inspiration. The unhappy result of this piecemeal stylistic borrowing has been the creation of gardens that bear no relationship to local landscapes and history and have no connection with our daily lives.

Claire Sawyers shows how this tendency can be reversed: She takes us on an introspective adventure – creating a garden that is deeply rooted in its surroundings and satisfying to its creator. Drawing on her knowledge of a vast array of American and foreign gardens, she identifies the five principles that help instill a sense of authenticity and make a garden that is true to a specific time, place, and culture. To capture and reflect an authentic spirit so that the garden, in turn, will nurture the spirit of those who cherish and dwell in it is all part of the adventure.

As the Director of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, Claire Sawyers brings both U.S. and international perspectives to her work. She grew up on a dairy farm in Missouri and spent six years of her youth in Japan, later returning to work with Japanese landscapers. She has worked in Belgium and France and holds Masters degrees from both Purdue University and the University of Delaware where she was a Longwood Fellow.

After the “story” you’re invited to continue this “thoughtful adventure” and “find your sense of place in the Conservatory” while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres.