Garden Programs

Twice as Nice
One Ticket -- Two du Pont Gardens!
March 9–April 30

Friends in town this spring? Share your love of the Brandywine Valley with them. For only $20, visit both Longwood Gardens and Winterthur, including a guided tour of the Winterthur mansion.

Click here for coupon!

Flower Power: Floral Artistry at Winterthur Exhibition
March 9–June 6

Widely known as a collector, horticulturist, and interior designer, Henry Francis du Pont combined these passions in the glorious flower arrangements he created for his home. Du Pont carefully considered color, shape, texture, and fragrance in developing complementary floral designs for his rooms and dining table.

In this exhibition, explore this crucial—and often overlooked—aspect of du Pont’s design prowess, from color palettes to specific flower and vessel choices.
Included with all admission tickets. Members free.

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Floral Arranging Class: Spring Harkens
Saturday, March 20
9:30 am-12:00 pm
Meeting Location: Greenhouse Bldg. #68

Enjoy walking the March Bank on the first day of spring and then return to the headhouse (Bldg. #68) to create your own lush garden basket filled to the brim with early spring-blooming plants. This basket of bulbs in flower will provide weeks of spring pleasure and can be planted outside for returning beauty next year!

Materials and containers will be provided, but please bring clippers. $65; $55 Members

Lost Gardens of the Brandywine Exhibition
March 27 - July 25, 2010

Long known for its lush public gardens, the Brandywine Valley is also home to private gardens whose names ring out from another age. In this stunning exhibition, explore these hidden and lost gems through rare early color images of and garden relics from “one of the chief centers of horticulture in the United States.” Image of Winterthur Sundial Garden courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library

Members free. Included with all admission tickets.


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Floral Arranging Class: Easter Centerpiece Treasure
Wednesday, March 31
6:30-8:30 pm
Meeting Location: Greenhouse Bldg. #68

Join Winterthur’s talented floral arrangers in creating a stunning centerpiece for your Easter table. The best of spring cut flowers will be chosen, and the style will reflect the design aesthetic of the estate: abundant elegant flowers in wonderful color.

Materials and containers will be provided. Please bring clippers. $65; $55 Members

Becoming a Garden Volunteer
March 31, 9:30-11:00 a.m., Visitor Center, then Rotunda

Are you interested in learning more about gardening and about Winterthur? Join us for this introduction to volunteering in the Winterthur garden led by staff members and current volunteers.

Free, call 302.888.4779 to register.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Wednesdays, April–October (except August), 11:30 am

Join us for demonstrations, talks, and guided walks covering a wide range of gardening topics. Check back soon for more details on individual programs.

2010 Schedule
April 7: Spring Into Action
April 14: Spring Ephemerals in Azalea Woods
April 21: Marian Coffin's Sundial Garden
April 28: Fairy Flowers of Enchanted Woods

May 5: Explore the Quarry Garden
May 12: Planning Scrumptious Summer Containers
May 19: Focus on Peonies
May 26: Sycamore Hill Highlights

June 2: Easy Shade Perennials
June 9: Hollies: ID and Culture
June 16: Twin-Scaling: Bulb Propagation
June 23: Hydrangea Magic
June 30: Ferns for Your Garden

July 7: Tree Climbing De-Mystified
July 14: Winterthur's Specimen Trees
July 21: Happy Cat Veggie Garden Tour
July 28: Maintaining a Wild Garden

September 1: Edible Ornamentals
September 8: Soil Structure: A Garden's Foundation
September 15: September Showstoppers
September 22: Warning: Nursery Stock to Avoid
September 29: Working Buildings of Farm Hill, from Past to Present

October 6: Wrought Iron to Nylon Webbing: Seating in the Winterthur Garden
October 13: Oak Hill: Fruits and Restoration
October 20: Bark: More Than Just Noise
October 27: Winterthur Garden History


Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. Walks last 45-60 minutes. No reservations necessary.
Members free. Included with general admission.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 4.7.10
Spring Into Action
11:30 am, April 7
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Enjoy the wildflowers, trees, and beautiful natural landscape of the Winterthur estate. Meet Mary Patterson, specialist garden guide, for a stroll on garden paths and off the beaten track. Explore new areas and experience Henry Francis du Pont’s beautiful spring legacy.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Lost Gardens of the Brandywine Lunchtime Lecture Series
12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

In conjunction with the Lost Gardens of the Brandywine exhibition (open March 27 - July 25), Winterthur experts and other local historians will discuss notable gardens of the area. Members free. Included with all admission tickets. Feel free to bring your own lunch or to purchase one at Winterthur. Image courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library.

April 8: Grace Gary, Executive Director of Nemours Mansion and Gardens, “Unbuilt and Unexpected Nemours”

May 6: John Feliciani , Director of Horticulture at Winterthur, "The Felicianis: Three Generations of Gardening at Winterthur"

May 20: Jeff Groff, Director of Public Programs at Winterthur, “The Lost Gardens of the Main Line”

May 27: Diane Newbury, Landscape Historian, “Women Garden Writers of the 1920s and ’30s”

July 1: Jenny Carey, Landscape Historian, “Jazz Age Gardens”

Lost Gardens Lunchtime Lecture:
"Unbuilt and Unexpected Nemours"
April 8, 12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Join Grace Gary, executive director of Nemours Mansion and Gardens, for a discussion of the partnership between Alfred I. duPont and architect Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings that led to the design of the gardens at Nemours. Gary will focus on aspects of the gardens that were never built and on some of the unusual approaches to horticulture that were considered.
Members free. Included with admission.

Ikebana Class: Water in Composition
Saturday, April 10
9:30 am-12:00 pm
Meeting Location: Greenhouse Bldg. #68

Water is regarded as the conscious element of ikebana design. Study the various ways it can be incorporated, such as emphasizing the water surface, showing water through a glass, or combining different containers and shapes. Instructor: Midori Tanimune
Materials and containers will be provided. Please bring clippers.
$48; $40 Members

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Winterhazels and Early Rhododendrons
April 10, 1:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 4.14.10
Spring Ephemerals in Azalea Woods
11:30 am, April 14th
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Enjoy an early spring day in Azalea Woods. Susan Sibley, garden horticulturist, will be your guide as you witness the garden come to life with bluebells, trillium, and windflowers. Take a close look at how the plantings are massed to create a true “wild garden.”
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Heirloom Bulbs for Restoration Gardens
April 17, 11:00 am

Flower bulbs were among the first plants in commerce and have been around long enough to even be mentioned in the Bible. Brent Heath, a third-generation bulb grower and co-owner of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, will illustrate how historic bulbs can be used in the garden. Whether it's a colonial home or your grandmother's garden that you wish to restore with authentic bulbs of the time, your options include a palette full of colors, seasons, heights, shapes, and sizes. This talk will cover hundreds of possibilities that are from 50 to 500 hundred years old and will include slides taken in period gardens such as Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, and Mount Vernon. $20; $10 Members.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 4.21.10
Marian Coffin’s Sundial Garden
11:30 am, April 21
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Landscape architect Marian Coffin and H. F. du Pont were lifelong friends and collaborated in the creation of the Sundial Garden. Learn the history and design of this April garden at the peak of its season with assistant curator of the garden, Carol Long.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Inspired by the Winterthur Garden
April 23 1:30–2:30 pm, Rotunda

Learn how to apply the artistic lessons of the Winterthur Garden to your home landscape with examples from the private gardens of Winterthur’s garden staff.

Optional tour follows. $20; $10 Members. Call 800.448.3883 or 302.888.4600.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 4.28.10
Fairy Flowers of Enchanted Woods
11:30 am, April 28th
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

The fairies are lonely on Oak Hill! Come enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells associated with an awakening spring garden while focusing on some of the legends and myths surrounding fairy flowers. Kathy Weir, specialist garden guide, will help you catch the spell of the magical Enchanted Woods.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Winterthur Invitational
Saturdays, May 1-29
This May, Winterthur Museum & Country Estate will display a series of magnificent historic automobiles. Step back in time to see the types of vehicles that graced the estate. Each Saturday will feature a different thematic display.

Display Schedule
May 1: The Early Years
May 8: Jazz Age
May 15: 1930s Vogue: Luxury, Innovation and Speed
May 22: Post War Years
May 29: Elegant Estate Automobiles
Members free. Included with general admission.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 5.5.10
Explore the Quarry Garden
11:30 am, May 5th
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Enjoy a tour and discussion about the interesting and beautiful Quarry Garden when it is at its primrosey peak. Tom Maddux, specialist garden guide, will share details of this garden area’s design and plants.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Lost Gardens Lunchtime Lecture:
"The Felicianis: Three Generations of Gardening at Winterthur"
May 6, 12:15 - 1:15 pm, Rotunda

There has been at least one member of the Feliciani family working in the Winterthur Garden from the early 1920s to the present. John Feliciani, director of horticulture at Winterthur, will weave Winterthur and family stories into a documentation of the creation of the garden, its period of neglect, and its restoration.
Members free. Included with admission.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Azaleas and Spring Wildflowers
May 8, 1:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 5.12.10
Planning Scrumptious Summer Containers
11:30 am, May 12th
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Learn the basics of container planting from garden horticulturists Michele Christiano and Leigh Donnelly. They will demonstrate the selection of the perfect pot, potting medium, and healthy plants for a beautiful summer container garden.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Spring Photography Workshop
Focus on Flowers: Creating Floral Close-ups
May 14-16

Photographing the miniature world found in close-ups of flowers is both fascinating and endlessly challenging, especially for the outdoor photographer. In this intensive weekend workshop for intermediate students of photography, Allen Rokach (www.allenrokach.com) will share with you his expertise and long experience creating floral close-ups with the goals of helping you define your own aesthetic vision and master the techniques needed to serve that vision.

A series of classroom presentations, discussions and on-location outings on Winterthur's beautiful grounds, together with daily critique sessions, will give you the chance to discover the many approaches to shooting floral close-ups and meeting the challenges they present. You will learn how to:

1) Pre-visualize the image you want and use conventional and digital camera settings to achieve the results you desire
2) Turn to the right macro lens, extension tube or close-up filter for each image
3) Control sharpness in the subject and background for a variety of aesthetic effects
4) Analyze natural light and make the most of any weather or lighting situation
5) Use small electronic flash units creatively to serve your vision
6) Use color and composition for sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle images and to put your personal stamp on your images
7) Explore creative solutions to difficulties such as working with motion
8) Use after-capture techniques with PhotoShop and PhotoShop Elements to refine your results.

Attendees should plan to bring the following equipment: digital camera; laptop (not necessary but very helpful to have with you); a macro lens or extension tubes or close-up filters; tripod; card reader and memory stick; and a small flash unit that can be fired off the camera.

Register early! Call 302.888.4600. Workshop maximum is 20. Should you have further questions about the content of the workshop or whether it is appropriate for you, please email the instructor directly (allen@allenrokach.com). Photo courtesy Allen Rokach.

$295; $245 Members

Creating a Vegetable Garden with Your Child
May 15 9:00–11:00 am, Rotunda

Discover the rewards of gardening as a family. We’ll show you how to get started with a simple herb and vegetable garden.

$20 per family; $10 per Member family. Call 800.448.3883 or 302.888.4600.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 5.19.10
Focus on Peonies
11:30 am, May 19th
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Explore the care and maintenance of herbaceous and tree peonies. Take a walk through the Peony Garden, featuring A. P. Saunders hybrids with flowers ranging from yellow, white, and pink to lavender and red. Michelle Stapleford, the garden horticulturist who cares for the Peony Garden, will be your guide.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Lost Gardens Lunchtime Lecture Series:
Lost Gardens of the Main Line
May 20, 12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda
Philadelphia’s Main Line suburbs are noted for their country places and suburban houses and gardens. Some of the top landscape designers created gardens for these properties, including the Olmsted Brothers, Beatrix Farrand, Ellen Biddle Shipman, Warren Manning, and Thomas Sears. Jeff Groff, Director of Public Programs at Winterthur, will look at gardens, primarily from 1900 to 1930, which ranged in style from formal Italian to more naturalistic, that were very well known in their heyday but are now mainly gone. Among the gardens to be discussed are Allgates and Dolobran in Haverford, Timberline in Bryn Mawr, and Red Rose in Villanova.
Members free. Included with admission. Feel free to bring your lunch or purchase one at Winterthur.

Wednesdays at Winterthur
Garden Walks, Talks, and Demonstrations 5.26.10
Sycamore Hill Highlights
11:30 am, May 26th
Location: Greenhouse Bldg #68

Sycamore Hill is the place to be in late May as color jumps from the Sundial Garden across Garden Lane. Join Duncan Pike, specialist garden guide, as he takes a look at how recent renovations to the area are coming along and identifies plants that can extend spring in the home garden.
Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Lost Gardens Lunchtime Lecture: "Women Garden Writers of the 1920s and ’30s"
May 27, 12:15 - 1:15 pm, Rotunda

The number of publications aimed at the garden owner surged in the early 20th century. Many of the most popular garden writers were women, some of whom are still read today. Landscape historian Diane Newbury will discuss Louise Beebe Wilder, Marion Cran, and Mrs. Francis King, among others—authors of engaging books and articles that gave sound advice and encouragement.

Members free. Included with admission.

KIDS GROW Children’s Vegetable Garden
June 12–August 7 Saturdays, 8:00–9:30 am, Greenhouses

(Beginners class: ages 6–8; Advanced class: ages 9–11) Exclusively for Members! Registration deadline May 30 Children of Member families are introduced to vegetable gardening in this 8-week course. Kids plan, cultivate, care for, and harvest their own plots as well as form a community garden with staff horticulturists. Children must be accompanied by an adult. All garden tools and seeds will be provided.

Members only; free. To register call 302.888.4779.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Meadows and Ponds
June 12, 8:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Bring your flashlight, dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Enchanted Summer Day
June 19, 11:00 am–3:00 pm

Celebrate the beginning of summer with your family in Enchanted Woods with crafts,music, games, and more. Enjoy playing in the new Upside-Down Tree!

Rain-or-shine event. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets, Members free.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Chimney Swifts and Wineberries
July 10 8:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Bring your flashlight, dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Sunset From the Train Station
August 14 7:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Bring your flashlight and prepare for a long walk. Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Garden Structures and Water Features
September 11 1:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Fall Flowers and Fruits
October 9, 1:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Late Fall Color in the Garden
November 13 1:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.

Second Saturdays Garden Walk:
Conifers and the Winter Garden
December 11 1:00 pm, Visitor Center

Learn fascinating, little-known details about the estate with our horticultural staff.

Dress for the weather and wear walking shoes. In case of inclement weather, call 302.888.4915 after 10:00 am. Walks last approximately 90 minutes. Members free. No reservations necessary. Included with all admission tickets.