BlB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 16,1982
By Debbie Hoontz
Longwood Gardens
welcomes you
year round
KENNET SQUARE - From
now on, whenever I hear that old
familiar refrain, “takes my breath
away," I will remember the time I
was awed by the enchanting
beauty of Longwood Gardens; and
of how two Quaker farmers,
Joshua and Samuel Pierce and an
industrial engineer, Pierre S. du
Pont, turned 300 acres of prime
farmland into the horticultural
treasure of America. _
Such a nickname for the Gardens
is quite a profound statement for
any person to make and you may
ask what credentials have 1 to
make such a decree? I have only a
love of nature and ‘a farmer’s eye’
to know that what has been done on
this land is amazing.
That is why I am wholeheartedly
recommending it as a place for you
and your family to visit on a free
afternoon or a slow day.
Longwood Gardens is con
veniently located about 30 miles
west of Philadelphia in the historic
Brandywine Valley off Route 1, and
yet it is as far away from the hustle
and bustle of a city as one can get
in Pennsylvania.
But its proximity to Philadelphia
adds to its historic merits, for it
was William Penn, founder of the
‘City of Brotherly Love,’ who sold
the land to a Quaker family named
Pierce in the late 1700 s. Around
One of Longwood's love'temples sits by the edge of a quiet
lake. This, like so many sites at the Gardens,vadds year-round
beauty.
CountryO
ii- LJI
Outings
ond other brief e;cope/
1800, the family began planting
ornamental trees such as gingko,
yew, boxwood and paulownia.
Ever heard of any of these dan-,
dies? Neither had most of the
Pierce’s friend and neighbors; so
when they opened the tree park to
public viewing, it became an in
stant‘smash.’
Finally in 1906, the timber rights
to the land were sold and the trees
were to be cut. But Pierre du Pont
bought the property and proceeded
to turn it into the famous Gardens
we know today. In addition to being
primary designer of the Gardens,
du Pont was chairman of both the
Du Pont Chemical Company and
General Motors.
Today Longwood is owned and
operated by,Longwood Gardens,
Inc., a private, non-profit cor
poration. Seventy percent of the
$6.7 million annual budget is
provided by an endowment from
du Pont. The remaining money
comes from ticket and gift shop
sales.
The Garden contains in its
borders nearly 1000 acres, but only
300 acres are open to the public.
Though it may take you and your
family about 3 to 5 people to farm
and operate 300 acres, it takes the
Gardens a high 190 full-time em
ployees, including 80 gardeners,
-is view is.. ig over the famed 5-acre house four acres of exotic plants from all over
fountain garden. The main conservatories the worlds
and 40 students to take care of this
garden ‘extraordinaire.’
And now that you know the
history and the particulars
surrounding this ‘horticultural
treasure,’ you can sit back in your
seat and take an armchair tour
through the park with me that is
unless you decide to visit it
yourself.
This is just one example of the artistic touches added to
Longwood’s greenery. These plants, trimmed to resemble
bells above a fountain, welcome, visitors to the con
servatories.
" Stepping into the conservatory is like Longwood all year round and these indoor -
walking into fairy land. Spring is alive at delights are oblivious to the snowy outside.
There’s no need to fret over a
a day to visit; I happily discovered
the Gardens are open every day of
the year.
At first I felt I might be making a
mistake coming to this attraction
in the dead of winter. But my fears
were unfounded. Winter is for
bidden in the Gardens. By
January, spring has already
*• ■> r *
arrived. Huge greenhouses, quoted
by Garden officials to be nearly
four acres of heated, indoor gar
dens, include house orchids, ferns,
palms, cacti, all types of housely’
plants grown to unbelievable sizw,,'
banana and coffee trees, sugar
cane and vanilla and hundreds and
hundreds of flowering plants.
The admission price year-round
is a mere |3. This price includes
everything that is open during the
season you choose to visit. Though
$3 is inexpensive for all that you
see in the greenhouses, this price is
exceptional for all that you can
view in the summer. For it is
during this warm season that
Longwood is at its finest.
In summer, the Pierce home is
open. This huge home includes an
indoor garden-patio. Also in
summer, and perhaps most
stupendous, are the outdoor
gardens. There is a flower gard—'
walk, an open air theatre, la£~i
reminiscent of European estate'
gardens, fountains reflecting the
ambiance of the greatest artistic
water displays in Rome and
France, and an Italian Water
Garden. This Italian Garden was
inspired by du Font’s travels in
Europe in 1925. The shapes of'the
pools are similar, Longwood says,
to those at the Villa Gamberaia
near Florence, Italy, with the
addition of 600 jets of water. ..
And as if it weren't enough to
satisfy the farming, gardening and
horticultural enthusiasts who visit,
music lovers can also get their
money’s worth. A mammoth 10,010-
pipe organ is played regularly
from October and April and is
located in the ballroom for v
see. It is here that the GanW
holds year-round concerts, dinners
and lectures.
(Turn to Page B 20)