Longwood Gardens Unveils 5,000 Chrysanthemums as Morris Arboretum Opens Its Final Scarecrow Vote
Two of the region’s great gardens are giving Philadelphia its most colorful weekend of the fall. Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square opens its Chrysanthemum Festival on Friday Oct. 16, and Sunday Oct. 18 is the last day to vote in Morris Arboretum’s annual Scarecrow Walk in Northwest Philadelphia.
Longwood’s festival matters because it represents one of the most painstaking horticultural traditions in American public gardening. More than 5,000 chrysanthemum plants are sculpted by expert horticulturists into spirals, cascading clouds, and other forms, an exhibit that takes more than a year of planning and stays on view for only a few weeks, according to Longwood Gardens.
Beginning Oct. 16, the East and Main Conservatories are transformed into a showcase of horticultural artistry, with gem-toned blooms in yellow, orange, lavender, and maroon. New this year is a double chrysanthemum arch, plus a live chrysanthemum curtain in the Exhibition Hall backed by a display inspired by the Japanese art of stone viewing, according to PR Newswire.
Some chrysanthemum forms reach up to 10 feet, according to PhillyVoice, making the festival as much about sculpture as about flowers. The festival runs through Nov. 15, but the mums peak early, so opening weekend is the smart bet.
At Morris Arboretum and Gardens in Chestnut Hill, the 19th annual Scarecrow Walk features more than 40 scarecrows built by community volunteers, according to PhillyVoice. This year’s theme draws from decades ending in 70, from the 1770s and 1970s to an imagined 2070s.
The walk matters because it turns a visit into a vote. Visitors stroll the marked path through the garden and cast ballots for their favorite entry before the Oct. 18 deadline, giving the neighborhood’s creativity a competitive edge.
The pumpkin-covered Pumpkin Cottage, a 100-square-foot structure draped in pumpkins of every shape and size, anchors the garden’s fall display at the end of a decorated promenade. The scarecrows stay up through Nov. 1, but only this weekend’s visitors get a say in the winners.
General admission is $22 for adults and $12 for youth ages 3 to 17, with a $2 discount for tickets bought online, according to PhillyVoice.