Longwood Gardens

 

Our last port of call for our long weekend away was Longwood Gardens in the Brandywine Valley.  Just a little further up the valley, these gardens are just over the state border in Pennsylvania.

 

When we arrived, in contrast to Sunday's bright sunshine, there was a steady drizzle - a tonic for the garden but not for us!  Fortunately this extraordinary garden includes a five acre conservatory complex, so there was plenty to see while we waited for the rain to stop!

 

We entered the main conservatory (built by Pierre du Pont in the 1920's to house his growing collection of exotic trees and plants) via the main entrance.  

Above us were  huge hanging baskets of hydrangeas and ahead a large water feature surrounded by white lilies, clivia and some impressive echeum plants towering above the rest.

 

From here we wandered through the complex of conservatories and glasshouse tunnels, marveling at the range and quality of the plants and photographing some of our favourites or flowers that caught our eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This particular flower was a favourite for a much smaller visitor..

 

 

A kind passing photographer took a photograph for us in the orchid house.  There were some beautiful plants there - the Longwood Spring Orchid Festival had only finished a week or two ago.

 

Longwood is said to be one of the ten great gardens of the US.  We were able to venture outside once the rain stopped and visit a fraction of the more than 1,000 acres of the estate..

 

More about that another day..