Longwood will contrast hot and cold colors and scenes in its 2021 Christmas display.
A Longwood Christmas will feature a fire and ice theme that will include towering trees in fiery reds and frosted alpine scenes.
The annual holiday display at Longwood Gardens draws hundreds of thousands and will run Nov. 19 through Jan. 9. It will include thousands of poinsettias and more than 500,000 lights in trees and plants.
Last year, with so many COVID-19 restrictions in place, Longwood severely limited admissions, making A Longwood Christmas a hot holiday ticket to get. The gardens’ press release didn’t mention restrictions for this year.
Holiday decor at the former du Pont estate in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, will include a 22-foot tall Fraser fir outfitted with flickering flame lanterns and red, gold and amber ornaments in the Conservatory. Its Music Room will be decorated as a mountain retreat. The silver garden will feature a frozen succulent fountain and the Acacia passage to it will become a walkway of sparkling icicles.
The traditional children’s Christmas trees, made by schools in the area, will move to the Ballroom, because half of the conservatory has been lopped off to make way for a $250 million renovation and expansion now underway.
The Flower Garden Drive will be dressed in blue lights, and a 200-foot tunnel of light will grace the Meadow Garden.
As has become traditional, three fire pits created by Longwood crafts workers will welcome guests to sit and warm themselves up.
At the Small Lake, large ornamental spheres enclosing flame-like lights will decorate the tree-lined backdrop, creating a fiery reflection on the water. The Large Lake will feature floating luminaria.
The 18-foot Gardener’s Tree will move to a space near the historic Peirce du-Pont House and be decorated with handcrafted ornaments and garland.
The Main Fountain Garden will shimmer and flow with light effects mimicking water dancing to holiday music. In the Open Air Theatre, fountains will dance and change colors to holiday classics both sacred and during 5-minute shows that run throughout the day and evening.
Tickets and reservations are available now at longwoodgardens.org.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
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