Today, we visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The Christmas display was still in place and looked as fresh as if it was only the day after Thanksgiving. The building and reconstruction of Longwood Reimagined are nearly complete, and the new West Conservatory was open. The trees were gorgeous; photographs do not do them justice. The first was my favorite, between the East Conservatory and Exhibition Hall. If you are in the Philadelphia area, try to find time to visit Longwood Gardens.
I visited Longwood Gardens on Friday afternoon. The weather in our area was perfect: Autumn coolness and bright sunshine combined with glorious, colorful foliage. We decided to sit down and enjoy the fountain show. The time came when the music and fountains began to soar simultaneously. I was glad I had sunglasses on because I began to weep. The beauty of the classical music combined with the spectacular fountain show reminded me of heaven. I imagined how marvelous heaven will be. The sights, the sound of millions of souls singing praises to the Father, the Lamb, and the Holy Spirit. If earthly man can create such beauty, can you only imagine what God can do?
Longwood Gardens Fountain Show
Here is a clip of a great song. I have this CD and I just love to listen to this song.
Looking up in the Orchid Room at Longwood to the sky beyond the glass panels.
Longwood Gardens has a lot of construction going on. I hope I am able to one day visit more of the new greenhouse sections. When we visited this week, we saw that they are beginning to reconstruct the water lily gardens.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
In February 2016, I posted about these amazing anthurium hanging baskets I photographed in the Longwood Gardens Conservatory. When I visited the gift shop on my way out, I found single plants for sale at an amazing price and took one home with me. I’ve grown the anthurium in a terracotta pot as a floor plant since then, and although it has done well, it has never wanted to stand upright. After propping it up for years, I decided to let it do what it seemed to be destined to do well and planted it in a hanging basket.
““Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~ Dr. Seuss
The anthurium always looked interesting in its floor pot, but as a hanging basket plant it is unique and will never look common. A good lesson for me to follow too: Always be who I am, and not what others think I should be!
““Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
“The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon
This photograph, taken amid the glorious trees of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is part of Sunday Trees.
Somewhere within the glorious colors on the petals of this variety of orchid, there must be the shade…Razzle Dazzle Rose, today’s Color Your World – 120 Days of Crayola color. These orchid photographs were taken in the Longwood Garden’s Conservatory, March 2017.
My goal this year is to grow most of my plants from seed. It will be a challenge to bring this plant into flower its first year. To get a jump-start on possible bloom this year I am going to try growing the seeds in two ways, Winter-sowing involves placing sown seeds outdoors in a milk carton. More info can be found on winter-sowing here: Winter-Sowing Seeds.
I will also try growing some of the seeds by following the directions on a website called Outside Pride. Their directions call for giving the seeds a period of cold before sowing.
Dampen a paper towel, wring out excess moisture and carefully place the flower seeds on the damp towel. Roll up the towel, place it in a Ziploc bag and place in refrigerator for 4 weeks. ~Outside Pride/Red Hot Poker
Red Hot Poker plants come in a variety of ‘hot’ colors. An added bonus: Red Hot Poker flowers draw hummingbirds to your yard.
Here are a few additional examples of ‘Atomic Tangerines’ growing in the Conservatory.
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is having its yearly Chrysanthemum Festival. As always, the conservatory is filled with beautiful flowers and amazing feats of training the chrysanthemums to grow into unique shapes.
Here’s a close-up of one of the techniques they use.
There are shapes of all kinds to marvel over and enjoy. Most of these are created with only one chrysanthemum plant. Amazing!
Whatever the season, Longwood Gardens has something outstanding to enjoy.
They are beautiful planted in abundance, but I prefer to zoom in on a smaller group and enjoy the beauty of the sun’s rays shimmering through each petal.
Winter Joy is standing beneath this enormous display of anthuriums. The basket of tropical blooms is hanging from the ceiling of the Longwood Gardens Conservatory in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. In the midst of winter, what a blessing it is to have this lovely garden within an hour’s drive of my home.
An extra dose of winter joy awaited me as I browsed in the visitor center gift shop. The same anthuriums, probably grown in overabundance for the display, were on sale for a fantastic price…$6.50 for an 18 inch plant covered in bloom. JOY!
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I Peter 5:7
Banishing wintertime blues and anxieties can be as easy as visiting a local garden, a nearby park or arboretum. Even a quick walk or bike ride around the neighborhood does me good in the winter. Saturday was a perfect day to visit one of my favorite gardens, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The sight of God’s beautiful flowers in the conservatory was the perfect prescription for my hunger for green.
Check back tomorrow for a slideshow of my favorite flowers in the Longwood Conservatory.
