As we warm into spring, another victim of the pandemic emerges, Longwood Gardens and other public gardens, writes Fran Maye for dailylocal.com.

Earlier this year, Longwood Gardens was projecting 1.5 million visitors by the end of 2020.

Now it appears attendance will be at an all-time low.

This has had an impact on Longwood’s 500 full-and-part-time staff that maintained the gardens Only 45 remain.

Orchids normally sold have been composted. Garden beds usually filled with colorful flowers are bare.

Across America, more than 86 percent of public gardens are closed, according to Paul Redman, executive director of Longwood Gardens.

“Right now, the conservatory is looking bare,” Redman said. “And that’s a really unusual thing to see. Most of us at Longwood are grieving to a degree because we are removing ourselves from the people we want to serve.”

Roger Davis, garden manager at Longwood Gardens’ Idea Garden, said people can view 50,000 tulips virtually at longwoodgardens.org.

Meanwhile, some workers are being called in to prep for an anticipated reopening at some point.

Longwood Gardens says it plans to keep 300 staff on the payroll through the end of September.

Read more about the pandemic’s influence on Longwood Gardens and other public gardens here.