Longwood's first conservatory was built in 1914 when Pierre S. du Pont added an L-shaped extension to the original Peirce farmhouse, doubling its size. A conservatory connected the old and new wings.

Longwood's second and largest conservatory, opened in 1921, is one of the world's great greenhouse structures. The conservatory alone is home to 4,600 types of plants and trees. Since its original construction began in 1919, it has undergone expansions and renovations.[32] On Palm Sunday in 1966, the Palm House opened. This space was designed by Victorine and Samuel Homsey, Inc. In 1989, the new Silver Garden opened. This garden was designed by Isabelle Greene, and is meant to evoke the feeling of a dry desert stream bed.

In 1988, Roberto Burle Marx was asked to redesign the former Desert House in the Conservatory. Brazilian Burle Marx was one of the most celebrated landscape designers of the 20th century, and he had already visited and lectured at Longwood several times. The new garden was named the Cascade Garden and it opened in June 1992.

In 1993, the 100-foot-long Mediterranean Garden opened in the Conservatory, designed by Ron Lutsko, Jr.

In January 2003, the East Conservatory was closed for renovation and redesign, with the main hall reopening to the public on October 29, 2005.

In 2007, a much larger Indoor Children's Garden was opened in the Conservatory, replacing a small children's garden that had been housed in the Conservatory since the 1980s. In 2010, an indoor green wall, designed by British landscape architect Kim Wilkie was added to the Conservatory. This green wall contains 47,000 plants and was the largest green wall in North America when it opened. The Green Wall, which is the entrance way for a series of bathrooms, was voted America's Best Restroom in 2014

Conservatory gardens include: Acacia Passage, Banana House, Bonsai Display, Camellia House, Cascade Garden, East Conservatory, Estate Fruit House, Exhibition Hall, Fern Passage, Garden Path, Green Wall, Indoor Children's Garden, Mediterranean Garden, Orangery, Orchid House, Palm House, Peirce-du Pont House, Rose House, Silver Garden, and Tropical Terrace.

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