Spring Garden Tours

These past few weeks Tim and I have had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time to see spring burst on the scene.  

From the Italian and Japanese gardens at Maymount in Richmond to the District of Columbia's Arboretum and Hillwood Mansion, we've had a front row seat for viewing the showy blossoms of azaleas, tulips and daffodils that herald the arrival of warmer weather.

Yet, those were only the opening acts before nature's star performance at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Last Thursday we set up housekeeping at a KOA campground 20 miles south of Philadelphia, the closest campground we could find to the city.  Our daughter Jillian lives and works in the City Center of Philly so while she's busy at work, I thumbed through my well-worn copy of 1,000 Places To See in the United States and Canada Before You Die to see what attractions might be near us.  There I read about Longwood Gardens and determined to pay a visit.

Tim wasn't so sure he wanted to go on a garden tour.  That sounded a little too old lady-ish for him, but I appealed to his better nature, pointing out that this would be an opportunity for him to log some miles on the Fitbit he received as a Christmas gift from our children.

Even as we drove into the parking lot, I was holding my breath that he wouldn't just drop me at the entrance and do a disappearing act.  But even he was impressed by Longwood's grand performance.  And so he should be!

Longwood's Greenhouses

To quote my guidebook, "Longwood is one of the world's finest horticultural displays, with 20 outdoor gardens, 20 greenhouse gardens, four lakes, many acres of forest, and 11,000 different types of plants spread out over 1,050 acres."

Let me just add that the 245,000 flowering spring bulbs we saw in full bloom gave a stellar performance as they painted the landscape with their glorious colors.

The Pierce-Du Pont House

Of course, this garden did not happen overnight.  Its history stretches back 300 years to 1700 when Quaker farmer George Pierce purchased 402 acres from William Penn's landholdings.  A hundred years later, his great-grandsons had the grand idea of turning the farm into a pleasure garden that they could open to the public.  To that end, they purchased exotic plants and trees that with their care took hold and flourished.  But even they could not have imagined the garden as it is today.

By the time the 20th century arrived, Pierce heirs had lost interest in the farm and put it up for sale.  The buyer intended to cut down the trees and clear the land for development.

That's when Pierre S. du Pont of the DuPont chemicals empire stepped onto the stage.  An avocational landscaper, he bought up the land and added more acreage all the while envisioning a garden that would rival those he'd seen in his travels abroad.

To further gild the lily, Du Pont added more than 1,700 fountain jets and streams to the gardens, fountains that spin and dance to music as well as soar as high as 175 feet.  Du Pont credited a childhood trip to 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia with his lifelong fascination with fountains.  It was there that he was mesmerized by the huge display of water pumps he saw.

Tim and I were certainly impressed.  We arrived in time to witness the water spouts of the Open Air Theatre shooting water into the air in a choreographed show that rivaled that of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

With the death of his wife Alice in 1944 and having no children of his own, Du Pont opened Longwood to the public.  Today the garden welcomes not only visitors from around the world but schoolchildren in its education programs and graduate students pursuing master's degrees in public garden management.

Truly the gardens put on a spectacular show, the most sublime I've ever seen and Tim can back me up on that.