How do I love Longwood Gardens? Let me count the ways.

My good friend, Kathy Jules, who I rarely get to see despite the fact that she lives a mere ten minutes from house, wrote me last week. You may remember her from the mustard story I posted last summer. She e-mailed me and asked if I wanted to take a drive one day over the weekend and visit Longwood Gardens with her. I’d never say no to a visit to Longwood so I readily agreed.

An excerpt from their website describes it most aptly:

Exquisite flowers, majestic trees, dazzling fountains, extravagant conservatory, starlit theatre, thunderous organ—all describe the magic of Longwood Gardens, a horticultural showstopper where the gardening arts are encased in classic forms and enhanced by modern technology. Many generations helped create Longwood Gardens, but one individual—Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954), industrialist, conservationist, farmer, designer, impresario, and philanthropist—made the most enduring contribution.

Pierre du Pont was the great-grandson of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), who arrived from France in 1800 and founded the DuPont chemical company. Pierre turned the family business into a corporate empire in the early 20th century and used his resulting fortune to develop the Longwood property.

It didn’t matter that the morning had dawned foggy and sodden with rain. By the time we arrived and walked down this main path, the fog had begun to lift a little. We headed to the Conservatory, which is to the right.

I’ve decided that Sunday morning is the best time to visit the conservatory gardens. When we arrived, around 9:30, it seemed the only people there were photographers with their tripods and equipment.

I’m sorry this photo above isn’t any better but I had my macro lens on the camera at this point and didn’t want to keep changing back and forth.

These tulips are for my friend, Lori. I’ll be posting more photos in the days to come. It filled my soul with gladness just to be there this weekend.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .