Longwood Gardens dazzles in jewels and gems this holiday season for 'A Longwood Christmas'

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Longwood Christmas is open in Kennett Square, and it is a sight to behold.

This year's theme is jewels and gems, and now Longwood Gardens is gilded in Christmas splendor.

"It's a gem of a holiday season, so we really leaned into those jewel-toned colors as well as putting bling and crystals on everything," said lead designer Jim Sutton.

In the East Conservatory, a 24-foot-tall rotating Fraser fir towers with hundreds of ruby red gems and glittering gold ornaments.

There are more than 25,000 holiday plants in the conservatory, including 4,300 poinsettias in 24 different varieties.

"It's our most spectacular time of the year. It's when so many people come out. A tradition every year to visit Longwood at Christmas," said Longwood Gardens spokesperson Trish Evans.

The grounds here are expansive, with more than half a million lights illuminating the gardens.

Light strands would go 30 miles if stretched from end to end.

The main fountain is a highlight.

"We have lights that look like a fountain, so it's a programmed show to music, and it will give you the feeling the fountain is running when it's really just done with lights and music," Sutton explained.

In keeping with the jeweled theme, a 28-foot-tall diamond-inspired tree was created with 96 panels of sheer fabric, with shades that match the colors created when a diamond refracts light.

"Those beautiful pastel colors when the diamond captures the sunlight, and you see that reflection? That is what that tree is trying to capture, and it does so beautifully," Evans said.

Details abound in the Music Room, where an 18-foot-tall Fraser fir pops out of a huge jewelry box, just as a ballerina would pop out of a child's jewelry box.

A table for ten is set, fit for a prince, and in nearby cases sit gem specimens on loan from the Delaware Museum of Natural History and Science.

"I just think it fits to the theme, and it's an elegant setting," said Sutton.

A Longwood Christmas is open through Jan 11.

For tickets and more information, visit: LongwoodGardens.org.