The Food We Serve and How We Source It
Our food and beverage services are environmentally evaluated, which means that we are nearly entirely plant-based (oysters are one exception, thanks to the environmental benefits of oyster farming). We cultivate local partnerships as sources for our cafe offerings and event hospitality, and we always include a little bit of the Longue Vue gardens in our menus. Finally, Longue Vue is entirely single-use plastic-free. We encourage “for-here” service and utilize a high-efficiency dishwasher to keep our glasses, mugs, dishware, and flatware available. To-go items are served in aluminum, paper, or glass, with recycling receptacles available around the grounds.
The Methods We Use to Maintain the Gardens
Longue Vue removed all leaf blowers from the site in 2019, and we require that any maintenance vendors not use leaf-blowers or other gas-powered cleaning equipment. Our plant health and pest control products are all organic (and available in our Museum Store!), so even our littlest visitors can run barefoot through the grass without worry. Our equipment is nearly all electric as of 2024, and our goal is a fully electric fleet by 2025!
How We Manage Waste
Longue Vue absorbs 90% of our waste on our site and has a goal of zero waste by 2026. We achieve this through strategic, coordinated composting; repurposing all second-hand materials we can; and working with local companies to deliver recyclables to actual recycling centers. We work with vendors and program partners to raise awareness around opportunities to minimize landfill additions.
How We Finance Our Mission
Longue Vue seeks funding partners that share our environmental values whenever possible, and we decline donations that include the promotion of businesses invested in harmful environmental practices. The merchandise for sale in our Museum Store is largely by local artists and vendors, and we sell samples of the plants we use in the gardens each season. Venue rentals include use of our non-disposable supplies and materials, and we work with rental clients to raise awareness around the impact of waste on our environment. Supplies that harm the environment such as latex balloons and glitter are not allowed during rentals of Longue Vue venues.
Main House East Side
The current restoration to the Main House east side woodwork includes shutter repair of missing louvers, reglazing windows, and restoration of the wooden false shutter panels in the center bays of the second floor. A masonry house covered in stucco, the wood elements are attached in a variety of ways meaning that there is always new information to learn from each part of the project. Once restoration is completed all will receive a new coat of ‘Longue Vue Green’ paint (Essex Green to the outside world) and go back in place. Keep an eye out for the completed work at the end of Summer 2024.
Rosellinia Root Rot
In January 2023 LSU AgCenter identified a major pathogen in the Wild Garden called Rosellinia root rot. Seldom seen in ornamental landscapes it spreads rapidly through soil invading other plant materials and quick action is necessary to stop the spread. Learn more about how we are working to stop this pathogen in our garden from Longue Vue’s Integrated Pest Management Gardener Simeon Benjamin.
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The ‘Three Graces’ Fountain
The ‘Three Graces’ fountain in the Forecourt needs to be repainted every few years to keep it looking tip-top. The cast iron fountain was found by Edgar Stern in an antique store on Royal Street in 1950 and placed in the basin that was created with the home in 1942. It brings in water, as do the other 20+ water features on site, to the built environment. It is a focal point at the west end of the Ellen Shipman created axial view of the Oak Allée with the Shell Wall Fountain at the opposite end in the Entrance Court.
Wild Garden
In the summer of 2023, a pipe under the Southeastern portion of the Wild Garden burst. The New Orleans Sewage and Water board came to fix said pipe and in the process, a good portion of the garden had to be torn out.Starting with a blank slate, the vast majority of the replanting came from the wild garden itself. Most of the plants were transplanted to this area from other spots in the garden. Some of these plants include Callicarpa americana, Physostegia virginiana, Teucrium canadense, Symphyotrichum praealtum, Tradescantia virginiana, Helianthus angustifolia, Vernonia gigantea, Eupatorium perfoliatum, and Rudbeckia laciniata. Also included are a few historical plantings from the original design for the garden, such as a Hydrangea quercifolia and Cercis canadensis. Other plants, like Chasmanthium latifolium, were purchased.
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Main House Cooling Towers
Main House Cooling Towers Unique for its time Longue Vue was built with heading, ventilation, and air conditioning at the time of construction, 1939-1942, the first private residence in the area to built this way. After 82 years cooling tower one has been replaced with a new, all stainless steel unit.