By Meredith Haas
Contributing Writer

Sprung from the mind of Longwood Gardens head display designer Jim Sutton and created by a

small army of volunteers, staff and fellow designers, a Kennett Square holiday tradition has

added a new look this year.

Just look at the trees. They're being reimagined -- from a forest of festive firs suspended from

above, to towering tannenbaums.

On display through Jan. 6, “A Longwood Christmas” pays homage to the Christmas tree this

holiday season with an imaginative display featuring traditional favorites and inspiring new

twists. The light show happens the moment one leaves the visitor's center: a kaleidoscope of color on almost every tree.

 “There was no color palette this year, so all of the workers got to use a lot of different colors and

their imaginations,” Sutton said. “The cohesive thread is that it is all these trees, reimagined. This

year, I would describe what we did as taking a leap, rather than the small changes we have made

in years past.”

The “reimagined” concept reaches new heights with the 17 trees that float above the ballroom

floor, as if held up by nothing.

“We needed to know the weight of every tree hanging,” Sutton said. “They were brought in

pre-lit, and unlike normal trees, these had to be plugged in at the top, as they were hanging from

wires. With all of that, we had to hang 5,000 ornaments on every tree, get people to hang from

the ceilings to install wires, and make sure nothing broke the glass roof of the Conservatory.”

Along with the extravagant pursuit of hanging the trees from wires came another big leap

for Longwood in the Music Room, where designer and senior gardener April Bevans found

inspiration from local artist Danielle Vincent. With handcrafted walnut bookshelves on every

wall done by Longwood carpenters, books that were handcrafted by the artist are everywhere.

Vincent took old books, repurposed them and folded pages to make different designs. Tracing

the bookshelves at the very top is garland, hand-crafted from the pages ripped from old books

and made to look like a multitude of leaves.

“A staff member found Danielle at an arts festival last year, and when we contacted her to do

artwork for us, she was so excited, ” Bevans said. “Our goal was to stay with a classy theme, but

also be fantastic. This process took much longer than we thought it would, and many outdoor

workers came in on the hot or rainy days to help out with all of the decorations.”

Towering over everything in the Music Room is the 19-foot Fraser fir, clothed in metal or

metal-like ornaments, and a garland of books and white lights. Bevans said that it took nine

people to hang the thousands of ornaments.

“I wanted to stick with a muted color palette, with golds, silvers and pinks,” Bevans said. “You

can see the color scheme carried through the ornaments and in the furniture. We wanted to keep

the elegance, but we also did something different and had a child’s corner with a tree that has a

child-like feel. Along with this more fantastic feel, we put floating books in the fireplace to go

along with the floating trees outside.”

With each tree at “A Longwood Christmas” comes a story.

“In the Silver Garden, you will be able to find a tumbleweed tree made from tumbleweeds imported from the Southwest,” Sutton said. “In the Mediterranean Garden, there is a tree made of 600 pieces of green glass hanging from the ceiling to form the shape of a Christmas tree. In the Palm House, there is a beautiful tree of fresh-cut tropical flowers and 100 floral arrangements.”

Sutton said that there is a lot of planning and written work that leads up to each display, beginning nearly a year in advance. Bevans and Sutton will soon begin brainstorming ideas with other staff for next year's “A Longwood Christmas.”

“We go around now and just see what we like this year, and what we may like better for next year,” Sutton said. “I go around with my Christmas tree lighting committee, and we see what the

next leap will be for next year.”

To learn more about “A Longwood Christmas” and to obtain tickets, visit www.longwoodgardens.org.