In Northeast Philadelphia, born an' raised, at the tennis court is where i spent most of my days.... I wonder if Wil Smith ever went to Longwood Gardens when he was spendin' all those days playing b-ball at that playground outside of the school in West Philadelphia? Honestly, I knew Longwood Gardens was there, but I didn't think it was going anywhere, so like most Philadelphians, I figured I'd get there... eventually. Now, this is some kind of admission for a girl who proclaims to love flowers and gardening, but I plead the hometown fifth. Just look at this place...
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| Longwood Gardens Topiary Garden |
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| Longwood Gardens Topiary Garden |
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| Longwood Gardens The Rose Garden Apricot Candy Hybrid Tea Rose |
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| Longwood Gardens The Rose Garden Rose Climber - City of York |
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| Longwood Gardens Path Leading to The Flower Garden Walk |
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| Longwood Gardens Flower Garden Walk(this is only 1/2 of the walk - i'm gonna need a bigger camera...) |
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| Longwood Gardens Upclose of Allium (my husband loved that this is actually an ornamental onion bulb) |
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| Longwood Gardens Peony Garden (I know, it looks more like an Iris Garden, but wait..) |
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| Longwood Gardens Peony Garden (there, see, and for perspective - that is my husband's meaty hand dwarfed by this bloom...) |
| Longwood Gardens Wisteria Garden (We missed the blooms, but have you EVER seen a more impressive wisteria trunk?) |
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Longwood Gardens
Wisteria Garden
(We may have missed the blooms, but
the trunks under the trellis were impressive enough on their own...)
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yep, the hometown fifth... this is a legitimate legal defense - it's a common phenomenon when you live in a big city like Philadelphia - birthplace of a nation - ok, the best nation - it relates to things like The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' House, The Barnes Foundation, Valley Forge, and so on - just to name a few... When you grow up with these historic places in your backyard you tend to treat them as though they actually are commonplace; that you'll get to them - after the laundry, or the yardwork, and, maybe the most shamefully incriminating, after the most recent rerun of what-ev-er.... it's a "too cool for school" meets "hotshot pride" attitude hometowners subconsciously cultivate while they are waiting for the wide-eyed "tourist" to get their hoke-y asses across the street at the intersection of fifth and market before the light turns red a-gain.... As a consequence, you can be in close proximity to some of the most impressive historical locales in the world, drive past them on your way to work, and spend your entire life never really never seeing them - just ask the French, just how many of them have actually CLIMBED the Eiffel Tower.
I realized I was a subject of this phenomenon most profoundly this past Saturday, when my husband and i decided to go to Longwood Gardens, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania - which is less than 40 minutes from where we live now; yes, a shameful acknowledgement - LESS than 40 minutes... and to add to this shame, we weren't even completely motivated by a desire to check the place off of some kind of bucket list - we went... for a Memorial Day fireworks fix... You see, for a girl born and raised in Philadelphia, having been born on the first of July makes from thereon in perpetuity the 4th of July her own personal birthday celebration. Fireworks are practically my astrological sign... And so we went in search of fireworks. Neither of us had ever seen the fireworks at Longwood. And so, as you would expect, in keeping with everything else about Longwoods - take it from this 4th of July Philadelphia kid - these were some of the best I have ever seen - take a look....
I admit it - I am no longer "too cool for school". I am a double-dipped, wide-eyed, shutter-bugging, bumping into strangers tourist when it comes to Longwood Gardens. I've seen the light, the error in my ways, dip me in the fountain and call me a convert because the staggering collection of botanical specimens, the extraordinary care with which the gardens are maintained and the top-notch friendly staff - every detail in every manner of experience is so overwhelming, I, in my mere mortal words can't do it justice - I certainly can't fit it all into one post. I will likely never find the words to really do it the justice it deserves. Maybe just this, take it from their soon to be newest member, it is worth the trip, wherever you're from.... maybe we'll see you there. We plan to visit at least every season - since we here in the northeast get four of those - and plus the fact that we ARE less than 40 minutes away. Driving home down Route 1 in the cozy darkness, we even talked about becoming volunteers when we no longer have to feed the mortgage beast... it's good to dream....
So, all that being said, next Tuesday's floral post will be about Longwood Gardens - Part Two and will include the italian fountain garden, the tree house, oh, and the conservatory, to think we almost missed the conservatory (I'll explain later....) - i've never been to Versailles, but they can't have anything on Longwood's Gardens or Conservatory - I felt like I was in a movie standing in the courtyard of the conservatory in the dark with all of the waterlily ponds softly lit!! Oh, and the orchid house, ohhhh... Ok, I just can't resist sharing this now - here's a peak at the orchid house...
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| Longwood Gardens Orchid House |
Are those colors jaw-dropping, or what?
We're going to need to go back to photograph the meadow, Pierce's woods, the Large Lake, the Idea Gardens, the Allee, and so on and so on....
All I know for sure is, we're gonna need a bigger camera...
(full disclosure; my husband, a native Ohioan, has been to Longwood several times.... go figure.)
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