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| Longwood East Conservatory's Christmas 2011 display |
Before everyone is totally over-satiated with Christmas, I must squeeze in these pictures of our visit from last week to
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. This property has a venerable history; many of its fine trees were planted in 1798 by the Quaker family that had purchased the property a hundred years earlier from William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania). The farm was then purchased in 1906 by Pierre du Pont and he set about, at the age of 36, to create a garden like the ones he had admired in Italy and France. There are allees, an aged topiary garden, a long boarder, the preserved arboretum, an enormous conservatory and fountains galore. If you have not been, it really is worth the trip for every gardener, especially those in the the US.
I have been able to visit several times in the past few years due to having some family shockingly close to its location (ten minutes or less!). I will share these holiday photos in this post and follow up with a few outdoor shots and unique plant selections in the future.
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| Narcissus 'Ariel' |
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| Poinsettia planters and citrus trees in the East Conservatory |
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| White Cyclamens and red Pentas in the East Conservatory |
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| The tree in Exhibition Hall |
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| View across the water in Exhibition Hall |
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| View of one of their enormous gingerbread trees into the Orangery |
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| Oh, to have the light and room for one of these poinsettia beauties! |
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| Whole view of Exhibition Hall, with its pink Bougainvillea just starting to bloom in the roof |
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| The Orangery, a bedding wonderland in the wintertime |
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| Hydrangea 'Shooting Star', like the one featured at the Phipps Christmas show this year |
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| Mini white lilies among the bedding plants |
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| Poinsettia and paper whites with lite evergreen trees along one conservatory wall. |
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| Poinsettia 'Peppermint Twist' is full of ruffles |
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| Begonia 'Looking Glass', almost entirely silver |
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| Begonia foliage and red poinsettias |
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| White hanging poinsettias in conservatory. |
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| Blue Plectranthus thyrsoideus flowering above the double white poinsettias |
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| Amaryllis and hydrangeas atop the children's maze... more on this magical conservatory area later! |
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| This is my pick for most magical area... the potting room. What madness must have ensued here in November! |
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| A bit of history |
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| Plant holding area for quick fixes |
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| a beautiful variety of colors just in their extras |
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| Wreath in the chilly hall to the fruit houses |
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| View into the bottom of the Palm House at Christmas |
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| Bromeliad Guzmania 'Symphonie' |
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| More from the Cascade Garden |
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| This tree: Pink bromeliads surrounded by golden philodendron, Epipremnum pinnatum 'Neon' |
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| Stars over the Rose house for evening viewing |
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| Another bromeliad tree in the Tropical Terrace |
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| My favorite tree for last: Red-leaved geraniums and dwarf red hot pokers (similar to Kniphofia hirstuta 'Traffic Lights') |
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| The lights were just kicking up for the evening spectacle in the Mediterranean Garden |
Hope you enjoyed the quick tour. Their orchid extravaganza begins in two weeks, for those that might be interested in planning a winter trip to the Philadelphia area. And next summer, they will be featuring a garden lighting installation by British artist Bruce Monro which looks beautiful in the previews.
See more from Longwood Gardens in my posts this week:
Longwood Outdoors in Winter
Longwood's Green Wall (Indoor Vertical Garden)
What a treat! The fourth (I think) pic looks like white cyclamen and red Kalanchoe. So many pretties and ideas; thank you for posting these.
ReplyDeletePretty photos. Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your visit! Let's catch up soon...
ReplyDeleteThat just blows my mind! WOW! Thanks for sharing all that beauty.
ReplyDeleteThat Exhibit Hall is amazing! And I love the stars over the roses! That last Christmas tree is so unusual and eye-catching. I love the gingerbread tree, too! How nice to have family so close. What a beautiful place to visit.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tour! I love the gingerbread tree and that wreath is amazing. I will have to put this on my places to visit at Christmas time!
ReplyDeleteThis is on my bucket list as a must see at Christmas just once in my life...these images make me want to plan a trip already for this coming Christmas...that gingerbread tree is just too adorable...great tour!!
ReplyDeleteIt's all so pretty, Julie! A perfect post for the 12th day of Christmas. Thanks so much for sharing your lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteJulie, if I'm ever in Pennsylvania, Longwood Gardens is on my "must see" places to visit. You are so fortunate to have a gem like this near you! I could live there all winter! Everything is so meticulously thought out! Sooo beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely breathtaking! Such beautiful photo's you captured. I feel like I was there with you..
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing Julie!
WOW...they certainly go all-out, don't they! Love the gingerbread tree :-)
ReplyDeleteHow incredibly beautiful! Thank you for sharing - I had no idea the Longwood Gardens are so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteDear Julie, I am ashamed to say that although I live within one hundred miles of Longwood Gardens I have never visited. Your posting inspires me to declare 2012 the year I will go there. P. x
ReplyDeleteAstonishing. Practically the Chelsea Flower Show. The Dog Blogger is my lesser incarnation should be Catharine Howard
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place. Every photo was exquisite. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletehow beautiful, would I love to visit there. Thank you for sharing that, it has made the holidays complete. Our poor flowers down here don't know what to do down here in Florida, we had a couple of nights of freezes and now it is like the beginning of summer. My Christmas catcus is blooming for the second time. Thank you again,
ReplyDeleteElaine