Piecemeal Design

Can you imagine that the over 1,000 acres of Longwood Gardens had no grand plan?  Longwood's web site says that Pierre S. du Pont built them piecemeal, beginning with the 'old-fashioned' Flower Garden Walk.  He must have had some skill, as the flower walk was 600 feet long.  And his 'pieces' were massive conservatory greenhouses and water fountain gardens on the scale of the Villa Gamberaia in Italy. So today's images are from Longwood Gardens and you can see how wonderfully intense colour appears when there is an overcast sky.  The moisture in the air makes everything 'dreamy' in appearance.  The Love temple image has been processed by nature's own filters.

Top Ten Things to Do

Longwood Gardens are known for their beautiful gardens, aren't they?  Well they are also known for their amazing public restrooms.  They won first prize in the Cintas' America's Best Restroom contest last year.  Any restroom in the United States that is open to the public is eligible.  So Longwood is on the list again this year, along with 9 other public restrooms.  Here's the description. "The public restrooms at Longwood Gardens, the most visited public garden in America, deserve a double-take as you walk by. That’s because the 17 restrooms themselves are part of the largest indoor “Green Wall” in North America! The staff at Longwood worked with artist Kim Wilkie on an unprecedented feat of bathroom architecture. Take a look at the photos, and you’ll understand. Aside from the restrooms’ lush greenery, they also feature domed, naturally lit lavatory cabinets hidden within the “Green Wall.” In addition, each restroom contains etched translucent glass at the top of the dome to provide natural light, reduce electricity and minimize the need for light fixtures. Longwood Gardens traces its roots to the famed du Pont family and has become preeminent for its grand collection of plant life. Now, its restrooms also share in the spotlight. “The restrooms at Longwood have become a ‘must-see’ for our one million annual visitors, and we even have docents nearby to share the story of their creation,” says Patricia Evans, communications manager at Longwood Gardens. “To be named America’s Best Restroom would be a testament to our creativity and environmental stewardship.” If you want to see the winners over the past years, go to this 'hall of fame' link: http://www.bestrestroom.com/us/Hall_of_Fame/ Here's the link to see this year's nominees: http://www.bestrestroom.com/us/vote.asp

Grand Christmases

Longwood Gardens puts on the biggest Christmas show on the east coast, that I know of.  Here are some of the images from a few years ago, inside the conservatory.

Christmas Means Gingerbread

I can remember making Gingerbread Houses as part of Christmas.  Definitely, there were Gingerbread men galore Christmas cookies.  We would put them in tins with a piece of cut apple and they would soften up along with gaining some of the apple flavour.

Here are two of Longwood's trees created with rows of gingerbread men to form a tree shape.   The trees in the lower pool seem to be dusted with icing sugar to go with the gingerbread cookie decorations on them.  

The little sign at the bottom of the left tree reads: "These gingerbread men are fragile.  Please enjoy this display with your eyes only".

Bench Works

Benches are an enjoyable focal point for the photographer.  There is usually a path in a garden leading to a bench, also providing the photographer with a leading line in the image.  Here are two benches from the lovely Longwood Gardens, near Philadelphia PA.  The first is a spring image and the latter an autumn one.