9 things not to miss at 'A Longwood Christmas'

The 17 fully decorated Christmas trees floating in mid-air at Longwood Gardens are display designer Jim Sutton's favorite twist in this year's Christmas display.

With a theme of "trees reimagined," the show offers visitors at the former du Pont estate that floating forest, with trees made of books, hand-cut glass strips and tumbleweeds in the 4-5-acre conservatory. Outside, there's a tree made of birdhouses; 500,000 things on 150 outdoor trees; and more on the 1,100-acre property.

The Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, attraction changes themes each Christmas. In 2018, it is focusing on the iconic holiday symbol made popular by Queen Victoria after a photo of her tree circulated during her reign.

Here are Sutton's nine top things not to miss:

1. The floating forest above the water-filled fern floor. The trees are decorated identically with crystal, white, silver and mirrored ornaments. Some of the 8- to 10-foot tall trees are 30 feet off the ground. They are arranged so that no matter which angle you look at them from, you see the forest, not the trees.

2. The music room. Transformed into a library, the centerpiece is a rotating 18-foot Fraser fir draped in a garland of books with books sprouting from its topper. A tree is fashioned from stacked hardcover books, and Dannielle Vincent of Downington's 25 decorative book art sculptures complete the look.

The paper/book artist has folded the pages of discarded used books so they spell out the words Longwood, holiday and winter and depict images of oak leaves, fountains and more. Longwood discovered Vincent when a former intern found one of her books in an antique store and sent her business card to Sutton saying, "You might be interested in this."

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3. The tree in the Mediterranean garden. Fashioned out of 600 skinny rectangular pieces of glass, it is stained in various shades of green. Each piece is suspended from filament. Designed and created by project leader Kat McCullough, it floats above a bed of red amaryllis, white cyclamen, hellebores and kalanchoe for a striking contrast. She saw a picture of a similar tree and said she wanted to learn how to do that, Sutton said.

4. The 12-foot tumbleweed tree in the silver garden. It's made out of tumbleweeds imported from the American Southwest. McCullough had the idea for the tree for that garden, which features succulents and other plants that favor desert or arid conditions. "Who knew there was a business selling tumbleweeds?" Sutton said.

5. The floral trees throughout the Conservatory. They are all made from living plant material. One made of tropical cut flowers is in the palm house; nine trees made of tilandsia are in the cascade garden; and one made of miniature potted roses is in the rose house. 

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6. The giant color-changing orbs along the meadow boardwalk. They are nestled into the understory of plants. "They are just fun. They are unexpected," Sutton said. "They are the new LED technology. It's something we've never done before, and I just think they're a hoot."

7. The shimmering cone trees in the main fountain garden across from the conservatory. The fountains themselves are turned off in winter, but these cones will change color from blue to white and back, a sort of lit memory of water.

8. The three fire pits scattered around the grounds. "I love the smell of fire pits," Sutton said, and visitors seem to as well. One is at the main fountain garden as you head to the lower garden; one is in front of the Pierce-du Pont house; the last is at the pavilion at the meadow.

9. The 100 red and white lighted orbs suspended over the flower garden walk. It's designed to be a nighttime experience, Sutton said.

Some Longwood trees are just trees

While the 2018 Christmas exhibit focuses on reimagining a Christmas tree, some of the trees are just decorated trees. They include:

• The tallest tree is a 24-foot tall white fir in the conservatory, strung with 6,000 icicles and a swatch of red ornaments. It's set amid a woodland of white frosted trees and red winterberry holly. "It's a great photo op," said Longwood designer Jim Sutton.
• An 18-foot Fraser fir in the conservatory ballroom. It's decorated with a garland made entirely of ornately decorated packages topped with a golden glowing gift that symbolizes the generosity of Pierre and Alice du Pont.
• Two 6-foot southern magnolia trees in the outdoor meadow garden are ornamented with natural materials found in the meadow garden.
• The popular wildlife tree is reinvented as a 13-foot conical tree covered in 200 handmade birdhouses and decorated with edible ornaments.
• The Gardener’s Tree, featuring twirling ornaments, wind spinners and whirligigs.

Attractions also include the Open Air Theatre's fountains, which dance to both secular and sacred tunes every few minutes, and the outdoor train displays, which travel past a miniature Longwood Gardens.

If you go

WHAT: A Longwood Christmas

WHERE: 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square,  Pennsylvania

WHEN: Through Jan. 6.

TICKETS: $12-$30; cheaper during weekdays. Children under 5 free. Tickets are timed. Advance purchase is recommended because the show can sell out on weekends.

FOR TICKETS OR MORE INFORMATION: longwoodgardens.org.

Contact Betsy Price at 302-324-2884 or beprice@delawareonline.com.