Winter is here, and its cold outside. Last week was just about dark, cloudy, and rainy as it could it get. To keep warm, The Mistress and Dame celebrated indoors by visiting the solarium or conservatory, the home version of the sunroom. It can be a fully dedicated room with lots of glass and built-in flower beds or just a sun filled corner. We were off to visit one of the most renowned gardens in the county, the stunning conservatory at Longwood Gardens in the beautiful Brandywine Valley to see what tips we could up pick from the pros. The houseboys took many notes I might add.
Longwood Garden was started and added on to by Pierre S du Pont as the family's country estate and over the years was added on to even more, by his love of plants and nature and built on the family's tradition of gardening. The original mansion is still on the grounds, and the garden now encompasses thousands of acres. After the du Ponts no longer lived there, they wanted the place always opened for the public and garden lovers to come and enjoy. But the main jewel is the conservatory, a huge indoor space with twenty or so large rooms, that contain various different themes and flower variety, water features and falls, Tropicals, and their renowned Christmas display. Originally conservatories began in England as Orangeries to grow citrus fruits and indeed Longwood has its own, as well as the tropical terrace, an orchid house, rose house, rooms dedicated to grasses and ferns, palms and more. We were overwhelmed with the beauty and the heavenly scents all intermingled, but admired it all the same. It was a great way to start a dismal week. There is nothing like a greenhouse smell is there? Now on to the plant porn.
Even the grounds feature some interesting sights like this lit sculpture.
