00 The Main Fountain GardenOur hosts, Jim and Dora Gleeson in Wilmington, Delaware, friends from 1954 when we were together in the Army at Dugway, Utah, offered to take us to Longwood Gardens. It was a lovely drive on a small country road along Brandywine Creek.
Jim guided us along the well shaded paths. The view from the conservatory wall above the main fountain garden shows some of the 380 fountains in a quiescent mode. More elaborate light displays are programmed for evening or special event shows.
01 Bill photographingFlower Garden Walk
Bill is in the center of the Flower Garden Walk where two long brick walks extend from his left and right. Each is flanked by a 3 or 4 tiered display in color coordinated groups, such as the Scarlet Crested Cockscomb in the foreground of the reds, or the Zinnia in the yellow section. Dwarf pink Dahlias fill the foreground, while a mass of Pentas lanceolata attracts swallowtail butterflies in the middle tier of the pinks. There are also sections in white, blue, orange, and purple; all in compact, perfectly maintained plantings.
02 Celosia argentea var. cristata,cv. "prestige scarlet"
In 1906 Pierre Du Pont, bought the property from the Peirce family who had already established a forest and made the public welcome. Mr. Du Pont, chairman of the DuPont and General Motors Companies made his home there and continued development of the property and expanded the gardens. Today, more than 300 employees and students along with 500 volunteers keep Longwood’s 1050 acres beautiful and open to the public all year. Bill’s niece Elizabeth Pawek, now Mrs. Brian Shaw, mother of two, served a prestigious summer scholarship there 21 years ago in 1986 when enrolled at Cal Poly University in Ornamental Horticulture.
03 Zinnia, "Magellan yellow"
04 Pink Dahlia
05 Swallowtail Butterflyon Pentas lanceolata
06 Entrance PoolThe pool at the entrance of the East Conservatory gives you an idea of the variety in the interior gardens.
07 Santa Cruz Water-platter, Victoria cruziana and the thinner
Royal Water-platter, Victoria amazonica
Although we visited and photographed many other beautiful and interesting specialty rooms, such as orchids and euphorbias, we were entranced by the Outdoor Waterlily Display. The giant rimmed leaves of the Santa Cruz Water-platter, Victoria cruziana and the thinner Royal Water-platter, Victoria amazonica are flanked by many species of Nymphaea, both day and night blooming.
08 Hardy day-flowering, "Pink Beauty"
09 Hardy day-flowering, "Pink Beauty"
10 “Jack Wold”
11 Tropical day-flowering, "Jack Wold"
12 Tropical day flowering,"Director Geo. T. Moore"
13 Hardy, "Sunny Pink"
14 Sacred lotus, Nelumbo nuciferaThe tall, sacred lotus, Nelumbo nucifera from Asia has edible flowers, seeds, young leaves and roots. The dried seed pods are used in flower arrangements. Sacred lotus is the oldest seed ever germinated: 1,300 years old from a dry lake bed in northeastern China.
15 Fountains in The Open Air Theater
