LONGWOOD GARDENS

 

This past Monday I took a personal day and the Dame and I were off to Longwood Gardens in the Brandywine Valley at Kennett Square. It seems to be becoming a tradition to go with the Dame the last few years. Truth be told though, my favorite season there is still summer. But I admit I am pretty wowed by the different decorating themes and this year was no exception. Their trees are always spectacular to view with their ornaments and dazzling light displays. But I like to go to give me a touch of seeing some color and an explosion of flowers, since we are pretty much barren here now in the garden, so it's nice to get out and see the extensive array of color and variety of blooms. Beginning more than a year in advance, over 200 individuals work to craft unique ornaments and create each display. Even more to care take of the grounds and year-round exhibits. All this started with tradition in 1921, when the DuPont family hosted lavish gatherings to share the holiday spirit with friends and family. And once the DuPont's no longer lived there, the stipulation was that the grounds, and gardens, Pierce Du Pont House and conservatory would always have to be open to the public. This trip... the orchids captured me.

The smell was just incredible too.

WINTER'S GARDEN

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.

A tree in the mansion's sunroom.

Even the grounds feature some interesting sights like this lit sculpture.

A tree in one of the glorious treehouses.

The clocktower is a beautiful point to see and the chimes songs are glorious.

I'm off to Philly today to visit some friends and ex co-workers for some more holiday frivolity.

FOR CHRISTINA...LONGWOOD'S CARILLON

Last week I did a post on my recent trip to Longwood Gardens, and dear reader Christina was very pleased by the post....so this post is for her and her love of the gardens and my critters.Pierre du Pont constructed Longwood’s 61-foot-tall stone Chimes Tower based on a similar structure he had seen in France. He purchased the largest set of tower chimes he could find from the J.C. Deagan Company of Chicago after first borrowing one chime to test its carrying power. Twenty-five tubular chimes were installed in the upper tower chamber and Mr. du Pont installed a switch in the Peirce-du Pont House so he could activate the chimes from his residence. In 1941, the Deagan Company approached Mr. du Pont with word of their newly developed electronic imitation bells. Mr. du Pont noted, however, that he had "definitely decided not to make any change in the chimes at Longwood." 

In 1955, a year after Mr. du Pont's death, the Deagan Company again contacted Longwood, noting with electronic-age enthusiasm: "Your Tower Chimes are outmoded and obsolete. So many important changes have taken place since 1930 that what you have at Longwood positively cannot be compared with what we have to offer today." In 1956, the original chimes were replaced with a 32-note electronic carillon.  From 1956 to 1981, the electronic carillon sounded the quarter hours and played 16,000 daytime concerts and 600 evening concerts. In 1989, the electronic bells, which were in unacceptable playing condition, were disconnected.

   

The idea of restoring real bells to the tower was first proposed in 1977 by Schulmerich Carillons of Sellersville, PA. After 23 years of sporadic discussions and several trips to inspect instruments in this country and abroad, the Gardens signed a contract with Schulmerich's cast bell supplier, the Dutch firm Royal Eijsbouts, in June 2000 to build a 62-bell carillon.  Longwood closed the Chimes Tower in February 2001 to renovate the structure for the new carillon in the top chamber. Since then live concerts in the summer and fall, the carillon rings mechanically every 15 minutes from 9:00 am-5:00 pm. But why this is neat to see, one of my favorite things is the birdseed trees...and where I met my new friend...another on my many minions.

Then today when I thought of dedicating the post to her, this cardinal landed on my sill for lunch. Merry Christmas Christina!