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| Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip trees, often the tallest, straightest trees in the forests |
The 1070+ acres that is now Longwood Gardens once belonged to William Penn (and Lenape Indians before that). According to historical information that you find on the Longwood Gardens website and via Wikipedia, the land was purchased from Billy Penn in 1700 by a fellow Quaker, George Peirce, to serve as a working farm. At the end of that century, twin brothers of the Peirce family began planting arboretum specimens to create Peirce’s Park. This land has been open to the public since that time – a magnificent landscape within the charming Brandywine Valley that is filled with rich U.S. history, but also excessive urban sprawl. Thus, the property is quite an oasis in the greater Philadelphia region.
By 1850, Peirce’s Park contained one of the finest collections of tree specimens in the country, many of which remain today. What I didn’t know before yesterday is that Pierre S. du Pont purchased this property from the Peirce family in 1906 in order to save the trees from being cut and sold for lumber. The du Pont family is well known for its connection to the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (and sadly now, also the wretched story of one of the heirs being told in the currently playing film Foxcatcher). But I had never realized this aspect of conservation in the Longwood Garden story. I am grateful that this MIT-trained chemist (and former president of the du Pont Company and General Motors) was willing to speak for the trees.
Can you imagine the lost of this magnificent Sugar Maple?
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| Acer saccharum - This tree is so large, I didn't even recognize it as a maple! |
But alas, I diverge. Follow me now through a bit of our visit yesterday.
One
of the reasons gardeners like to visit a place like Longwood is to gather new
ideas for their own gardens – real or imagined.
One example from yesterday is this new-to-me Golden-twig Dogwood.
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| Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' (the flav prefix means yellow) |
Look
at what this plant adds to a winter landscape:
These
gardens at Longwood include tree houses and forest cathedrals. I would love to have one of these for
reading, bird watching, or simply escaping the busyness of life.
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| Can you imagine going to church in this sanctuary? |
The
view from this tree house is quite lovely, even in winter.
You
aren’t truly alone in these tree houses, as they come with carved friends of
the forest. I wonder who thought to keep
them warm with a scarf.
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| I wonder if you meet creatures like this if you go Into the Woods (a film I haven't yet seen)? |
New
since my last visit was the expansion of the gardens into the surrounding
meadows filled with meandering paths and bridges.
As
someone involved in native plant gardening and a restoration project that
involves a grassland, these types of informal gardens that attract wildlife and
serve all sorts of ecosystem functions are of great interest to me. This meadow may look un-kept, but much thought and design and work went into this project.
I
am thrilled with the conservation focus (perhaps in remembrance of why du Pont purchased this land in the first place) and important notes to the public on
simple signage.
Julie Z.:
if you read this, you must find out how to have your book featured and
sold here.
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| Wouldn't you just love to have one of these at home? |
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| Raptors! |
Along one of the paths, you pass the old dairy farm:
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| One of my favorite things about Pennsylvania - old stone farmhouses! |
We
wound our way back along other meadow paths to the much more formal home of
the du Pont family – with the dream conservatory connecting two parts of the home
nicely decorated for the holidays.
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| This amazing conservatory connects the original home to an addition. I can only dream of having a greenhouse or sunroom like this! |
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| There is something about old staircases and banisters that I love. |
…including the Bartrams who also saved trees like the Franklinia.
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| If you don't know about the Bartram's, you should read up on their work. |
I
hadn’t mentioned it yet, but a theme for this year’s holiday display at
Longwood was birds; they show up in creative ways across the landscape and
in the conservatories. We saw a number of real species too, including White-crowned Sparrows and Carolina Chickadees which aren't commonly found on our farm.
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| I like this holiday decoration! |
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| Egg-laden wreath in the tree sanctuary |
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| The crowds grew inside, but despite my tendency towards claustrophobia, it was worth it. |
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| Fountains and poinsettias |
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| Topiaries, giant palms, and Christmas trees! |
The last time I went to Longwood Gardens during the holidays
was over two decades ago, but I still remember seeing more poinsettias than
ever before – a breathtaking swash of red interspersed with deep tropical
greens. The look of the first main “room” this year was more subdued – a surreal
winter scene, a study in white – filled with the heady scents of lilies and
narcissus.
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| Here is where the enchantment comes in! |
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| And of course, some birds |
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| Paper whites |
…along with some that were the loveliest of shades of
pink. I only wish the pictures did these
flowers justice.
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Poinsettia with Kalanchoe |
I didn’t take pictures of everything, nor can I share the
entire experience, but will give some highlights below – beginning perhaps,
with a most unexpected part of the conservatory: the living walls in what is perhaps the most
amazing restroom area anywhere!
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The restroom corridor and living wall |
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| A close-up of the wall |
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| Behind the stainless doors |
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| A water closet complete with skylight |
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| and bird-themed holiday decorations |
I love tropical plants.
One of my favorites is Heliconia
(Bird of Paradise) – this one looking lovely against the burgundy colored foliage
of another tropical beauty.
Bromeliads don’t typically come to mind when you say
Christmas, but this one was decked out quite appropriately:
This one was not in Christmas hues, but incredibly striking nonetheless (again, the picture doesn't do the colors justice; they were almost neon).
One of my favorite garden rooms at Longwood is filled
with orchids. It was crowded yesterday,
so I didn’t get too many pictures, but I dream of a room like this at home! Not to mention the time and green thumb it
would take to grow these plants like this.
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| Such a soft pleasant yellow |
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| A wall of orchids! |
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| More lovely shades of pink |
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| A bearded wonder |
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| A strange specimen |
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| Where did they get all those bird ornaments? |
There was a peacock-themed formal dinner setting:
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| Doesn't your holiday table look like this? |
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| If there are peacocks, then there must also be orchids |
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| I love the color palette! |
And
decorative bird cages in hidden corners:
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| With poinsettias too! |
Who
would place penguins amongst cacti and succulents besides garden fairies?
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| There are even penguin ornaments on the tree - made from pine cones! |
Was
this a subliminal climate change message?
Or do the dancing nymphs, so favored by Pierre, return in the holiday season
to do some decorating? I have to wonder
given the wreath made of spleenwort ferns (really?)...
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| Spleenwort and Kolanchoe wreath |
... or one with succulents:
And there were many other whimsical garlands around the grounds.
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| Who has a tree house with such lovely holiday decorations? |
Who
else besides nymphs or fairies would create an entire Bonsai forest?
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| These are typically decades old |
Or
an incredible Bonsai Bald Cyprus?
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of this, but we saw full size specimens outdoors – huge trees
without their summer clothes, but with gnomes at their base.
Emerging
from the various rooms was a final grand indoor display:
And then, it was time to head out to the light show in the outdoor gardens. After this visual virtual tour of Longwood Gardens, if you don’t believe wood nymphs and garden fairies – living amongst the trees that Pierre du Pont saved – well then, I guess nothing can convince you. Unless perhaps you visit this magical and enchanting place yourself.
Happy
2015!
