Field Trip ~ Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens

• By Barb
• Posted in Amazing flower pairings, Bringing the garden inside, Field Trip, Things that inspire me in the garden
• On October 28, 2014
• 12 Comments.

Longwood Gardens Chrysanthemum Festival just began this week and runs through November 23rd! Many of you readers aren’t able to get there, so I took lots of pictures to share ~ a mini tour.

Although you aren’t there in person, just imagine walking into a huge conservatory filled with chrysanthemums of every kind everywhere you look. Huge chrysanthemum balls and chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Mums are trained to drape down the columns, flow in swathes through the indoor flowerbeds, fill large topiary pots and spread their many shapes and colors throughout.

One hundred cultivars are grafted together on a beautiful educational display. Domed 1,000 bloom plants flank the Exhibition Hall entry. And, then there is the mother of all chrysanthemums, The Thousand Bloom (which actually has 1,515 blooms). This is the largest you will find unless you head to Asia, where Longwood Gardens sent staff to train for this horticultural feat. In development for 18 months, special armature is built to support each bloom. Can you believe it is composted after the festival?

But also imagine that as you stroll through the conservatory you hear the gentle splash of water from the many fountains as you catch the sweet scent of mock orange’s dainty white blossoms. The Longwood Gardens Chrysanthemum Festival is a treat for the senses.