Cowfeathers Farm to Foxcroft Farm: Longwood Gardens with my Gardeners.

My parents are Gardeners. This, yes, with a capital "G". They have beautiful gardens, they create them for others and they enjoy touring gardens for inspiration and enjoyment. I am a gardener. Some days I aspire to being a Gardener, but my aspirations have me spread too thin over many areas to earn a capital.
Still, I enjoy the inspiration that comes from being around my Gardening parents and their Gardening friends. They even take Gardening vacations. Yep.
One of the Gardens I have heard my parents speak of for years is called "Longwood Gardens". I was picturing something beautiful along the lines of the gardens at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park- which years ago got me inspired about Dahlias. But I was mistaken. Akin to comparing Kennywood Amusement Park to Disney World. They both have roller coasters- but they are not the same.
Longwood is beyond a garden. It is a Garden.
Built by Pierre DuPont and family in the early 20th century, but constantly evolving, Longwood was, for me, a wonderful surprise.

We paid our money for a entry ticket and wandered outside and a path to the right. This patio area was featuring quite a pile of palms for July. But the arches surrounding the patio wall are roses. This would be magnificent during the blooming season!

Directly behind the round arched rose patio was this incredible lane. I was amazed by the fine proportions, the hedge and plantings in front of it, it felt leafy and tall, yet open. And, boy oh boy, do I need an edger. My garden's edges are not. They are constantly under assault by creeping weeds and scratching hens. Come to think of it, I did not see any hens at Longwood.

Middlest, with Yummie and Poppie at the top of the walk.

And me, an' my girl.

To the left of this long walkway, beyond the hedges are "rooms". Gardens that have different themes and feeling to them, all enclosed by a tall hedge. I loved the wisteria room and this sweet little room was a private little fountain room.

The way out of the Wisteria Room was through this grand arbor covered in wisteria.

Quite an awesome tree house!

This is called the "Italian Water Garden". The fountains were not steady flow, but variable, sometimes shooting high, and then more softly.

We made our way out to this little garden folly, perfect for a morning with a book.

Or a Renaissance Princess...

Modern Day Princess? With Orange shoes?

My Mum, standing at the entrance to Peirce's Woods.

This is the Flower Garden Walk. It is a deeply bordered walk, laid out by Pierre DuPont in 1907. It is a 600 ft. long flower border that lies down the hill from the main house. Currently, the walk is laid out in a color blocked flower bed that begins with white, moves to yellow, orange, red, and then blue and purple.

It was full of wonderful flower combinations, and some plants new to me, like the Gomphrena below, in a variety called "Strawberry Fields". I'm not usually fond of red flowers, but this one is so charming! I will look for it next spring to put in my own border garden.

Verbena bonariensis, begonias and hibiscus.

This is the color I tend towards in my selection of flowers. I love the blues.

A rare treat! A photo of my mother and me.

Considering the scope and size of Longwood, (926 acres) the main house is rather unassuming. I was surprised to see this pretty, but not huge home.
But, because I came to Longwood, evidently, to be surprised, when we walked from the house to the Conservatory, I was- you guessed it- surprised. The "Conservatory" is like Versailles, but with a glass top. It is vast. And, this is where the DuPonts would entertain. With a ballroom, plenty of guest quarters, and everywhere, gardens.

The Green Wall is a newer addition to the Conservatory. It is the area where the bathrooms are located, each bathroom an individual room, with natural light, door opening in the Green Wall. It was a hot day, and standing close to the wall, your skin could feel the coolness provided by the plants.

The rooms in the conservatory are so lush, and change with the seasons, just as do the gardens.

This is a really remarkable room. I am standing in the main entrance, where the carriages would have delivered guests. The stairs in front of me lead onto a sunken marble floor that is currently flooded with water. It can be frozen for skating, or filled with water plants, or as in one photo, covered in floating berries and fruit to create a work of art.

This is a photo of the floor with floating fruit, green apples and red? making this pattern for a Christmas display.

There is a courtyard in the middle of the conservatory, that is filled with Lily Ponds.

I am familiar with water lilies and I have seen lotus plants- our friends, the Nixons, have beautiful ponds with both, but I had never seen these enormous disks! They are 5-6' in diameter and hold up to 100lbs across their surface, yet are paper thin.

I would love to have a pond at Cowfeathers. But have not yet found the energy to start digging. These are too grand for my house, but they certainly suit the DuPonts!

There is a multi-year, gazillion dollar renovation being done on the Main Fountains. This is what they look like from the carriage drive in front of the conservatory July 2016.

This picture is what they looked like before they started mucking about.