Longwood Gardens Student Blog

Follow our interns and Professional Gardener students as they learn the tricks of the horticultural trade at one of the great gardens of the world

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Student Spotlight: Casey Orlosky, Marketing Intern

Hi there! I’m Casey Orlosky, the Marketing & Communications Intern. My position is one year long—I started in June of 2018, and I’ll be leaving in late May of 2019. The most exciting part about my internship is that I earned college credits while living and learning at Longwood. I studied Communications Media at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in Indiana, Pennsylvania (it’s very confusing, I know). Anyways, all communications students were required to complete a 9-credit, 3-month summer internship in order to graduate. Most students were allowed to walk in May, complete their summer internship, and then graduate in August—which is what I did. Prior to my internship, I was heavily involved with organizations on campus. I worked as a social media manager for HerCampus.com, an online magazine for college aged women; a marketing intern for IUP Dining; and the media chair for the Student Activity Committee (STATIC), which brought headliners such as Lil Dicky, Mac Miller, Lil Uzi Vert, Mayday Parade, and Bo Burnham to my campus.  

Hanging out with Mayday Parade after a STATIC event.

What is your favorite plant?

I really like daisies. They’re very simplistic, they come in a variety of colors, and everyone is familiar with them. Growing up, my mom planted daisies around our house and she would always get so annoyed when I picked them from her flower beds.

Cheesin’ with some daisies.

What is your favorite Garden at Longwood? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

My favorite Garden at Longwood is the Conservatory in the Peirce-du Pont House. This is where my office is located and where I spend a majority of my time. I love this space because the ceiling is sky-high, the color palette is calming, and the details in the architecture are very impressive. Also, my second favorite plant is located in here. It’s a massive Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) that grows on a column from floor to ceiling.  

Check out those monsterous Monstera leaves! My office is behind that window, by the way. 

What is the best part of being a student?

The best part about being a student are the wonderful opportunities we’re given. Our program encourages us to pursue professional development, whether it be attending a conference, seminar, or taking courses related to our field. In October of 2018, two interns and I were fortunate enough to attend the Adobe Max Conference in Los Angeles. We spent three days attending workshops, networking with more than 14,000 creatives, and learning first-hand from Adobe professionals. I learned new techniques to use in Photoshop and even learned how to use one of Adobe’s latest products for video editing before it was even released!

Jolisa Copeman (Display Design Intern), Zuny Jamatte (Seed Your Future Intern), and myself during Adobe Max! 

What is your background in horticulture (or whatever field you are in)?

I have no prior background in horticulture, which is surprising considering that I work in a Garden. However, I learned a lot since I’ve been working here. I write and source imagery for Longwood’s social media posts, which helps expose me to many types of plants.

A rare photo of me gardening.

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

What interested me the most about this position was the fact I’d be working with an organization and non-profit that is so prestigious. It’s a great resume-builder and I knew that I would learn valuable marketing skills during my time here. Living rent free on property while also being paid was also an added incentive. I definitely think my experience helped me get my current position. I gained three years of marketing experience during my four years at IUP, which is something that most students my age didn’t have.    

Cooling off in the Waterlily Display. 

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

If you follow Longwood Gardens on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, then you see a lot of what I do. I write our social media posts, source imagery, film & design Instagram stories, create Facebook events, respond to comments/questions, and much more. I also spend write our monthly Member newsletter, track our analytics for Instagram stories, and take photographs throughout the Gardens.

One of my favorite photos I’ve taken—the Orangery during Orchid Extravaganza. 

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

After my internship, I hope to continue working as a marketing professional and help a company with their online social media presence. Preferably, I’d like to work with a small business and grow with them as they expand. I wouldn’t mind working for an agency or a larger organization though. It would be nice to move out of state, as I’ve lived in Pennsylvania my entire life.

Article and photos by Casey Orlosky.

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Intern Project: Widener University Event

By: Zuny Jamatte, Seed Your Future Intern

Working and living at Longwood Gardens is truly an amazing opportunity. Yes, we are “interns,” bottom of the food chain, but here, it doesn’t feel like it. We all have vital responsibilities that are essential to the day-to-day operations and the fulfillment of Longwood’s mission. Every day I come into to work and help make Longwood one of the greatest gardens of the world. Additionally, I got a unique opportunity to go above and beyond and make a difference to ten local university students.

Pictured above: Me, presenting about social media during our event.

So, this is how it all started. A student from my Alma mater, Widener University, reached out to me to see if it was possible to organize a field trip to Longwood to learn how we manage our communications, marketing, public relations, media creation and event planning. I was unaware if that was a possibility, so I went to the one person that would know, Brian W. Trader, the Director of Domestic & International Studies. Brian loved the idea and stated that it would fall under the category of a student intern project and I would have to write a proposal describing what the event would entail.

Seemed easy enough! However, to plan an entire outreach by myself on top of my actual intern duties was a little daunting. I decided to scout for help. I asked Casey Orlosky (marketing intern) if she would be interested in helping with project that she and I would plan and execute ourselves. She was beyond interested in this project and agreed immediately!

Together, we initiated the project by writing a proposal that contained an overview, benefits of the event, date, time, a draft schedule, email template for speakers, and a list of folder contents for the students. After a review with Brain, we altered the schedule to include a wider variety of speakers across Longwood and got our stamp of approval! After our proposal was approved we were ready to start planning the event.

Step 1: Confirm date and time with Widener University

Easy enough, they picked Friday, November 30, 2018 from 12:00 pm-4:30 pm.

Step 2: Reserve rooms at Longwood that would accommodate 10 students, a speaker, Casey, and myself.

We reserved the Pierce du Pont House conference room for the beginning of the event and reserved a separate classroom for the second half of the event. Acquiring the classroom was quite the hassle with classrooms usually being booked for various education classes. It took some negotiating, but we eventually worked it out and found a room.

Step 3: Send out emails to potential Longwood speakers

Casey and I made a list of the speakers we wanted and divided them in half. She was responsible for contacting the first half of the list, while I was responsible for contacting the remaining staff members. Our email template contained a brief description of the event, when it would take place, location pending and topics we would like them to discuss.

Step 4: Finalize the schedule and send calendar invites

As we received responses, there were a couple requests for different times, different locations, acquiring different speakers, etc. Our first speaker included myself to discuss Seed Your Future and BLOOM! initiatives, Brian Trader popping in to say hi and give a shout-out to the intern programs, Steven Fenton (Art Director) to talk about the graphics created in house, and Casey and Jen Fazekas (New Media Marketing Specialist) to discuss social media. For the second half of the afternoon, our speakers included Maureen McCadden (Digital Resource Manager) to talk about the digital gallery, Thomas Warner (Performing Arts Director) to highlight our entertainment events, and Cathi DelVecchio (Special Events Manager) to talk about general event operations.

Once our speakers were confirmed, we sent out a confirmation email with calendar invitations for each presenter.

Step 5: Acquire student tickets

This was one of the easiest steps. Simply enough, I went to Kelsey Thebner (Education Administrative Assistant) and asked for 10 tickets. I kept the tickets in my desk until the event.

Step 6: Send Widener a confirmation email

The next step was to tell Widener the details of the event. We sent them the schedule, a map of Longwood, a list of items we will be providing such as, folder, snacks, water, etc. We made a note to request that students dress appropriately, wear comfortable shoes, and to avoid bringing book bags.

Step 7: Create our own presentations

Since Casey and I were both presenting, we had to create PowerPoint presentations about the roles of our internship. This part was enjoyable for me! I browsed through my latest projects and made sure to include any relevant information in my presentation.

Step 8: Compile the student folders

An additional task was to get our folders ready for our event attendees. We made a list of what stuff we wanted to include: schedule, contact sheet of speakers, info sheet on horticulture, list of some houseplants (had to inspire future plant lovers), info sheets on Seed Your Future and BLOOM!, list of related internships at Longwood, map of Longwood, seasonal brochure, and a blank page for notes.

Step 9: Purchase snacks and beverages

The day before the event, I went out and purchased water bottles, granola bars, and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for the students! I dropped them off to Casey for her to take to the room the day of the event.

Step 10: Execute the event

The day had officially arrived! The students were to arrive at the Visitor’s Center around noon and I was going to meet them there while Casey set up the room. She elegantly laid out the snacks and water on a spare table, laid out the folders and pens, and waited patiently for our guests to arrive.

Step 12: Send out thank you emails

The last step was to thank all our speakers for their time and expressed our appreciation as well the students.

Casey and I were proud of what we had accomplished. It was also fantastic to have another person to lean on and help create an outreach event that benefited these students. It’s definitely an event that I would not have thought of on my own. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to do something positive, learn more about event-planning, and have the support of Longwood on this project.

Pictured above: Look at those diligent young students learning about Longwood operations!

Additionally, it was a good feeling to see how impressed our speakers, supervisors, and directors were to see what Casey and I had accomplished. Most interns do not take advantage of the opportunity to do a project of this magnitude, but hopefully reading about Casey and I’s experience will help inspire current and future interns to take a leap. You might honestly surprise yourself of what you can accomplish either individually or as a team. The best advice I can give any intern here at Longwood is to try something new, do something different, inspire the future, and just do you!

Article by Zuny Jamatte. Photos courtesy of Casey Orlosky.

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Hi there! I noticed that recently Longwood began accepting applications for summer interns for a variety of different positions. I am super interested in the arboriculture internship position but I did not see it listed among the options for the most recent application. I was wondering when applications for that position will be open? If anyone could let me know, then that would be amazing. Thank you!!

Hi! Applications for that position will open very soon (date is TBD). They are due in May. Hope this helps!

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Student Profile: Michael Stafford Performing Arts Intern

Hi everyone. I am Michael Stafford, the performing arts intern. I grew up in Huntington, New York, but I spent my last four years studying music and business administration at the University of Delaware (UD). Before working at Longwood, I worked as a music intern for Vita Nova Restaurant, and as an intern for the Master Players Concert Series while taking classes at UD. In August of 2018, I began my yearlong performing arts internship at Longwood Gardens.

All dressed up for an Organ and Choir Concert in Delaware.    

What is your favorite plant?

I really like chrysanthemums, especially the large exhibition varieties that were on display during the Chrysanthemum Festival. The size of some of them is rather impressive!

Enjoying the beautiful Chrysanthemum Festival!

What is your favorite Garden? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

My favorite garden is Longwood Gardens, of course! My favorite part about being at Longwood is learning about the plant world. I did not have any prior background in horticulture, so it is very exciting to learn about plants while also learning new skills from the performing arts staff.

What is the best part of being a student?

The best part of being a student is the community. I may be the only student here for performing arts, but all of the interns are inclusive and welcoming, which has made working here so enjoyable!

What is your background in horticulture (or whatever field you are in)?

I have been interested in music for as long as I can remember. After starting classes at UD, I joined their marching band and wind ensemble. I immediately became interested in event operations after learning about them in my music courses. During my four years at UD, I completed two internships related to event operations. I love planning and creating spectacular moments for people without having to be on stage.

Feeling the music with the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hen Marching Band

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

During my undergraduate program, I wrote many research papers about orchestras for my music courses. Writing the papers made me realize how interesting music venues are, which opened my eyes to a potential career path. One of my professors shared the internship position with me and urged me to apply, so I did! I think my enthusiasm for the arts and my work ethic helped me get the position.

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

My daily tasks include updating the website, monitoring ticket sales, and proof reading all print materials for the performing arts department. I am a liaison between marketing and performing arts, as I deliver content for print materials to the designers in marketing. One major project I am working on is photographing the historic Longwood Organ for documentation purposes.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

I am not entirely sure where my career path will take me, but I do intend to work with venues in the future. One day, I would like to be the director of operations/marketing for an orchestra or a major music venue. Fingers crossed!

Getting ready to play some music!

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Student Activity: Holiday Retreat

The Christmas season is always a busy time for everyone at Longwood, including us students. We welcomed more than 450,000 guests this Christmas, which is the highest amount of visitors we’ve ever had before! It’s safe to say that every staff, volunteer, and student was exhausted by the end of our 8-week display.

To relieve some of the stress and put our minds at ease, our bosses planned a student retreat in December for all of the interns, Professional Gardeners, and TRIADS at Longwood. We all took a break from our jobs and spent the morning building and painting our own custom-made ceramic pieces at the Center for Creative Arts in Hockessin, Delaware.

For most students, this was their first time ever working with clay. Our instructors expected this so they started us off with a very simple project—a pinch-pot made from a circular slab of clay. We rolled out the clay with a rolling pin, traced it with a round template, and pinched together the sides to create an adorable tiny dish.  

Step 1: Rolling out the clay.

Step 2: Cutting the clay into a round shape.

Step 3: Pinching together the sides to create my mini bowl!

After our first project we were given the option to create whatever we wanted with our leftover clay. Some students made ornaments and others made tiny figurines, but I decided to make another pinch pot. I wanted to decorate my desk with dishes to store my paperclips and other small objects.

Busy, busy, busy!

Once we were done playing with clay we moved onto the final step—glazing. There were so many colors to choose from that it was hard to pick a color! I decided to paint my square dish maroon and yellow, and my pinch pot light green. I even added a little stamp of a bee in the center of my maroon dish.  

My lovely works of art.

I had a blast creating and painting our pottery, but the highlight of our activity had to be seeing the creative, unique pieces that my peers made. Their creativity truly shined from completion to end.

Here’s some of the pottery that my peers made.

We ended the day with a three-course meal at a local restaurant before heading back to our apartments. Each of us work in various departments throughout the Gardens so it’s rare that we all get to spend quality time together during work hours. As much as I love working in the Marketing office, it surely was a special treat to take a break from work and spend quality time with my friends. 

Treating myself to some chocolate cake.

Article and photos by Casey Orlosky.

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Student Profile: Julie Raiguel, Education Intern

Hi, I’m Julie the School and Youth Education Department Intern. I’m originally from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, but I spent the past 4 years in South Carolina studying biology at the College of Charleston. I love to travel and have a good amount of international experience—studying, SCUBA diving, and hiking. 

What is your favorite plant?

My favorite plant is the river birch (Betula nigra). I had a large one of these trees outside my bedroom window while growing up. I really like birches in general with their flaky bark and serrated leaves, but I had a special connection with that one.

What is your favorite Garden? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

My favorite garden at Longwood is the Student Exhibition Garden. I think it’s really cool to see the creativity and capstone project of the Professional Gardner Students, especially since we all live together on The Row. 

From the beauty of the Gardens at sunset to spending time with wonderful people, there are so many reasons I am excited to have the opportunity to learn more about education at Longwood Gardens!

What is the best part of being a student?

I find the best part of being a student is the culture of the program. It is nice to be able to gain experience while being in a learning environment. The culture is also great for networking as I get to spend time with professionals and other students with interests similar to mine.

On Fridays, I get to teach in the virtual learning studio. We offer live interactive programs about plant science for students in first through sixth grade.

What is your background in horticulture?

While my academic background is not directly related to education, I have spent a lot of time in educational settings. Throughout high school, I taught karate to students aged 3-12 years. During college, I also helped teach SCUBA diving to high school girls and served as a teaching assistant for a Plant Taxonomy course.

SCUBA selfie! Before I developed my love of plants, I was really interested in marine biology.  One of the cool experiences I have had in education was helping a group of high school girls learn to SCUBA dive in the Caribbean.

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

I wanted to come to Longwood because it would be an opportunity to get kids excited about plants and nature. I also thought I would enjoy teaching in a non-traditional setting. I think my background of plant science in combination with my teaching experience was valuable for getting this position.

I love to learn and explore the plants and wildlife wherever I can.  This image was taken in the Heather and Moorland zone of Mount Kilimanjaro.

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

At work, I help out the different members of the School and Youth Department. I help with outreach event planning as well as developing summer camp curricula. Additionally, I teach onsite field trip programs for school students and scout troops and conduct virtual field trips about plant science via a distance learning platform.

With this equipment, an office is turned into a studio from which we can share Longwood with people from all over the world.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

I plan on attending graduate school to study plant biology. I hope to one day conduct research in plant science and educate people about this fascinating field.

Charleston was a beautiful region to inspire my love of plants and teaching. Even in the city, you can find pops of color like this one—the state flower of South Carolina (Gelsemium sempervirens).

Article and Photos by Julie Raiguel.

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Student Activity: Stoneleigh

In early August, a small group of professional gardener students and interns (including myself) took a trip to Stoneleigh. The property was formerly an estate owned by the Haas family, but was donated to Natural Lands and is now in transition to become a public garden. Despite legal battles with the school district regarding rights to the land, the community has stood behind the gardens and its development.

The weather was hot and humid the day we visited the gardens, however it wasn’t hard to find shade due to the overwhelmingly large amount of tree specimens. I couldn’t believe the sheer size of some of the trees. I also thought to myself how breathtakingly beautiful this space has to be in the fall.

The Tudor Revival mansion was a sight to behold in its own right. I felt like I had been transported to a different point in time when viewing the structure across the vast and open lawn. The Cercidiphyllum, one of my favorite trees, adorned the front lawn with a cascading water-like shape. I was amazed at the diameter of the trunk on the Platnus that bounded the corner of the front patio. While I’m not sure whether any of the trees on the property were champions of Pennsylvania, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were close runner-ups.

As I walked around the garden, it felt as though nothing had been changed from the property’s glory days, but every now and again, you would come around a corner and see a pop of modern garden flair that added a child-like sense of awe. I loved how the design outside of the event pavilion/restrooms played with geometric shapes, lines, textures, and depths. You could really feel the influence of Natural Lands as there were many North American natives (Asclepias, Sarracenia, Gaura, etc.) included in the beds found throughout the property.

One of my favorite spaces I stumbled upon was a white arbor amongst a sea of shrubs, trees, and Pachysandra. The way the sun was making the structure glow in waves of green foliage, you would have thought you were in a scene straight out of a Miyazaki film.  

After walking around the gardens multiple times, I could really feel all the hard work that has been put in to the preservation of this historic site. With the opening of the gardens just occurring this past May, I can’t wait to see how it transforms over time, and I really can’t wait to come back for a spectacular fall color show.

Photos and blog by Nick Kreevich

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PG Study Abroad Trip: St. Michael’s Mount

Our visit to St. Michael’s Mount was incredible! We were able to see the spectacular terraced gardens where we were all surprised to see tender succulents and other exotic plants tucked into rock walls. The island is unique because it is a microclimate, there was no wind at all and while we wandered from one section to another we noticed drastic changes in temperature which is how they are able to keep such an awesome collection of plants. We also learned about how they work with the Lord and Lady of the castle in the design of the garden while also being a National Trust garden.

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PG Study Abroad Trip: Great Dixter

Today we had an excellent opportunity to visit the house and gardens of Great Dixter. Although the weather may not have been in our favor, we were greeted by the nursery staff with warm smiles and a gracious offer to tour us around this iconic garden. This incredible tour allowed us a glimpse into the 15th century house which included a comprehensive tour of the stunning gardens that surround it. As our experience came to an end, we were then allowed time to wander the garden and appreciate its beauty.

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PG Study Abroad Trip: RHS Garden, Wisley

The day was spent with the current students of Wisley to discover the meaning behind several gardens there and relating them back to historical designs while exploring “spirit of place”.

Image 1 is the long border at Wisley.

Image 2 is all of the staff and students that participated in the day’s activities.

Image 3 is Landscape Architect and Historian Stephen Smith describing the meaning behind a “Statement of Significance” in a Garden.

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PG Study Abroad Trip: Update

Where can you see giant monkey puzzle trees and the most diverse collection of seeds in the world? The Millenium Seed Bank at Wakehurst!

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PG Study Abroad Trip: Chelsea Physic Garden

After arriving in London early Thursday morning, we freshened up and headed over to Chelsea Physic Garden. We met with Head Gardner Nell Jones to learn more about an important piece of London’s history: medicinal plants. Almost all of the plants housed at Chelsea Physic are of ethnobotanical value and many are arranged by their importance in human health, diet, and lifestyle.

Not only was it great to learn so many new plants (neatly arranged by Family in orderly beds), we also saw many of our old favorites such as an ornamental Phytolacca in a new setting.

In the photos below:

Nell Jones explains the garden’s impact on medicinal history in the London area. She also explained how they connect with the public today on the importance of plants and the ethical responsibilities of horticulturists when working between nations to culture medicinal plants.

Amy is enraptured by a Fuchsia.

Tim and Lauren admire the fasciation on Veronicastrum.

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PG Study Abroad Trip

PG class of 2018 is departing on their study abroad to the UK. Stay tuned for updates!

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Student Spotlight: Spencer O’Bryan, Conservatory Management Intern

Hi, I’m Spencer O’Bryan and I am the Conservatory Management Intern here at Longwood. I’ve been working here for a total of twelve-months now and will be leaving at the end of this week. I was born and raised in upstate New York, and studied Geology at Carleton College. 

Me planting Guzmania ‘Hilda’ in the East Conservatory.

What is your favorite plant?

One of the first plants that drew my eye was in the Garden Path inside the East Conservatory. Euphorbia cotinifolia, has beautiful reddish-copper foliage and this is commonly called the Caribbean Copper Plant. It is currently featured on the Flower Garden Walk this August, so be sure to check it out if you come to visit the Gardens.

What is your favorite Garden? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

The Philadelphia region is a horticulture hotbed with more than 30 wonderful gardens to explore in the area. My personal favorites are Chanticleer Garden, the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College and of course, Longwood Gardens. At Longwood, my favorite areas include the Cascade Garden, Silver Garden, Flower Garden Walk and the small gardens surrounding it.

A newly planted bed of Sanchezia and Chrysanthemum.

What is the best part of being a student?

I love living with other horticulturally and environmentally conscious students. It has been wonderful exploring gardens in the greater Philadelphia area with them during Longwood sponsored field trips each Thursday, and during our own personal time as well.

An assorted Tillandsia and Peperomia tree from the Christmas display.

What is your background in horticulture (or whatever field you are in)?

I grew up gardening with my parents and great-uncle at our home in upstate New York. I studied Geology at Carleton College, and had a special love for courses involving plants. My favorite courses at college included those pertinent to horticulture such as Paleobiology, Hydrology, Geomorphology and Environmental Anthropology.

A walkway during the March Blues Festival highlighting Scilla peruviana and Echium candicans.

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

The College and University Internship Program at Longwood was a wonderful opportunity to explore a life-long passion of mine. I have always loved plants and the chance to work with them for an entire year was something I could not pass up. I had visited Longwood years before applying and loved the Gardens— particularly the Conservatory. I was drawn to the Conservatory Management internship for numerous reasons. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable and each have their own focus – succulents, tropical plants, aquatic plants, orchids, palms, ferns, bonsai – and I have been able to work with each of these experts. I love the wide diversity of plant palates in the Conservatory and that this position allowed me to work with each type.

A new planting in the Mediterranean Garden featuring Anigozanthos, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’, Pelargonium, Salvia, Ornithogalum, and Felicia amelloides.

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

Each day in the Conservatory is different, though there are parallels across the board. We typically begin at 6:00 am and complete the big projects before opening to the public at 9:00 am. These projects include display changes and large-scale grooming projects. We have five major seasons at Longwood: Festival of Fountains (Summer), Chrysanthemum Festival (Fall), A Longwood Christmas (Early Winter), Orchid Extravaganza (Late Winter) and Spring Blooms (Spring). The start of these seasons means lots of displays changes, particularly throughout the Orangery and East Conservatory. These changes are very involved and can occur over a period of weeks. The most intense change was for the Christmas season, which occurs over three days before Thanksgiving.

One of my favorite flowering plants: Salpiglossis sinuata, commonly called Painted Tongue.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

My goal after completing this internship is to continue to work in public horticulture. I have been inspired by the staff members at Longwood and continue to learn on the job every day.

Article and Photos by Spencer O’Bryan

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Meet Us in the Meadow: Beauty and the Bees

As the Guest Engagement intern, I’ve had the opportunity to assist with the planning, logistics, and implementation of multiple family programming events throughout the year. One such event, Meet Us in the Meadow, I’ve actually been lucky enough to assist with programming twice, as the first event occurred only a few weeks after I started here at Longwood. I saw this year’s event take shape from initial planning all the way to implementation and evaluation. Since National Pollinator Week fell on the same week as our June 23rd event, this gave us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the native pollinators that call our Meadow Garden home. Meet Us in the Meadow: Beauty and the Bees allowed us to create a space for multi-generational learning, while building connections to, not only our Meadow Garden, but also the native plants and the pollinators that make the world we know possible.  

Guests explore the Meadow Garden

I had the opportunity to complete a number of tasks in preparation for this event, including writing instructions for our volunteer team, completing research to support out topics, creating bee and butterfly curriculum and activities, composing comprehensive task and supply lists for the team, creating a lawn game called “Buzz Words Trivia,” and ensuring that all necessary materials were either made, gathered, or purchased. My favorite project was planning and organizing the ‘What’s the Buzz?’ activities and engaging guests at this station during the event. Here, we used both props and live insects to teach guests both young and old about the lifecycles, habitats, and migration of our native pollinators.

During the event, we used photographic flipbooks, a lifecycle models, books, activities, and live insects to engage guests and introduce them to the world of pollinators. One of the most popular activities at the ‘What’s the Buzz?’ station saw guests use a magnetic bee wand to see how negatively-charged pollen “leaps” from the flower to the positively-charged bee. This is because native bees are covered in tiny hairs and, when they fly through the air, these hair brush dust particles and take on a positive static charge. Bees also have complex nerve systems that allow them to feel the world around them, based on how their hairs move, so they can tell if a flower has already been visited, based on how strongly the flower’s charge pulls on their hair. This activity opened a lot of opportunities for discussion about pollination and how important native bees are for crops and gardens.

Bee props used during the event

Another activity children and adults, alike, really enjoyed was using magnifying glasses to examine the Painted Lady caterpillars and chrysalises we had on-display. This allowed them to think about the full lifecycle of a butterfly and how they can care for and protect these important insects during each phase. It was very gratifying to see young children connect with these topics and walk away rattling-off facts they didn’t know beforehand. I also had the privilege of speaking with many parents and other adults about the importance of protecting pollinator habitats, especially milkweed and bee tunnels, and creating pollinator habitats in our gardens.

I really enjoyed engaging with guests at the ‘What’s the Buzz?’ station

My favorite interaction of the day and the one that will stick with me long after I leave Longwood actually happened after the event concluded. We had live leafcutter bees on display during the event for guests to view and learn about, so it was my responsibility to release them following the event. They didn’t fly away as quickly as I expected, though, so I had to gently handle each one and place them on flowers in the Meadow. While I was in the process of moving the bees on my hands, a woman approached me wondering what I was doing and we had a wonderful conversation about native bees and how solitary bees are, by nature, gentle. She was shocked that I was handling the bees without worry of them stinging me and wanted to know everything I knew about them and how she could support them in her garden. I know this interaction was only with one person, but it had the power to touch so many more, as I saw her sharing what she’d learned about native bees with other guests later in the day. That just goes to show how a single spark of curiosity can ignite so much change!

Meet Us in the Meadow was my first big event as a member of the Guest Engagement team and I am so grateful that it is also one of the final events I will oversee during my experience here at Longwood!

A gentle leafcutter bee resting on my hand, before flying off to explore the Meadow Garden

Article by Kaitlyn Coleman 

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Student Spotlight: Jolisa Copeman, Display Design Intern

I’m originally from the Poconos in Pennsylvania. I moved to Delaware five years ago after I received acceptance to the University of Delaware. I’ve received my B.S. in Environmental Science and my M.S. in Entrepreneurship & Design. During my Master’s program I was able to build my portfolio by working on UD’s exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show, which helped me land my current position as the Display Design Intern here at Longwood Gardens. I will be working, learning, and growing here for an entire year.

What is your favorite plant?

The Bonsai Tree! There is so much history and elegance behind a Bonsai Tree that makes it stunning. Something about the timelessness & patience of a Bonsai’s life journey makes the process so rewarding, a lesson that can be related to all aspects of life.

A Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii ‘Nishiki-tsukasa’) showing off at the Bonsai Display.

What is your favorite Garden? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

My favorite Garden is Longwood, of course! My favorite part of Longwood is the Main Conservatory. This could possibly be a little biased because I work there every day. 

What is the best part of being a student?

The best part of being a student at Longwood is being able to tap into all of the resources provided to help us grow and learn about our specific fields. Resources such as educational classes, conference stipends, and an unlimited access to co-workers that are open to teach and share their knowledge is something you may not find at other work places.

What is your background in horticulture?

I have a B.S. in Environmental Science and a M.S. in Entrepreneurship & Design. My love for horticulture grew after working on University of Delaware’s display exhibit in the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

I wanted to come to Longwood after visiting for the first time during Christmas. I realized this was a beautiful place and I wanted to meet and learn from the person who designs it all.

Here’s a photograph of myself while visiting Longwood during Christmas last year. Six months later and now I work here!

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

As the display design intern I work directly with the Senior Display Designer, Jim Sutton, helping him manage multiple different projects at a time. We work on all five seasons, usually a year in advance, at the same time. I update and create designs on AutoCAD (design software), update crop lists for various seasonal plans, help with display mock ups, and photograph different plants throughout the garden.

If it’s nice outside, I’ll take my lunch break by the Waterlily Display. Here’s a photo I took of a lily (unknown) that stood out to me while I was enjoying my break.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

My future plans include working at a design firm specializing in sustainable urban design. I want to be a part of a group that is working to make our cities greener. My ideal vision is to create spaces such as Longwood, which are accessible to everyone on a daily basis.

Article and Photos by Jolisa Copeman.

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Student Activity: Waterlily Display

As part of our Mission at Longwood, we strive to educate people about excellence in horticulture by offering Student Internships and a 2-year-long Professional Gardener Program. Through our studies and work experience, every week we attend student activities that expose us to the world of horticulture.

Posing with a 5-foot tall Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid'

The Students last week were given the opportunity to learn hands on about aquatic gardening from Senior Horticulturist (and aquatic garden expert) Tim Jennings. We gained an appreciation for Tim's work in the Waterlily Display, he even inspired some of us to possibly design our own aquatic garden one day.

"It was a really great opportunity to go into the lily ponds and learn about the different waterlilies and the plants we have. The lotus are really neat with their ability to repel water, and being able to see the underside of some of the larger lily pads that we have was a lot of fun. Actually, being able to go into the ponds to be up close and personal with the plants was exciting! I had a great time learning how these displays are put together and how you can keep some plants overwintered. Maybe one day when I have a house I'll actually have an aquatic garden of my own!"

-Kerry, Greenhouse Production Intern

Getting up-close and smelling the flowers.

Tim was also able to permit us special access to view the garden from the roof of the conservatory. He said, "It really does make a difference to view the garden from above. You can see the design of the plants that way, and when designing the garden you can understand the dead space and how to best utilize it."

A view from the top.

Jess, the Library and Informational Intern, quoted that "Tim is extremely knowledgeable and approachable. I never knew that there was so much more to learn about waterlilies. The hands on aspect was really fun and this activity introduced me to something that I may not have sought out myself to learn." 

A small group of us listening to Tim educate us about the East Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera 'Rosea Plena')

This activity has always been a favorite for every group of students that participates in the Student Activities. It truly was educational and inspiring to learn everything about aquatics. Thanks again, Tim!

Article by Nathan Stewart