Another Monday daytrippin
It's been a long day... bed at midnight-thirty, up at 6:30 out the door at 7:00...
why?
We went ages ago, when Liz was 8, going on 9. We enjoyed it. We ran ourselves out of film. We saw so many things... but that was 11 years ago.
Anyway... off we went at 7am. We had to stop for gas because I forgot to go last night which of course added to our time. Caught a little traffic but were still there easily within the 2 1/2 hours Google Maps predicted. Nice drive too. Crazy thing is that in Cecil Co, MD there be roads that the oak and maple trees meet overhead and you have to drive with lights on in daylight because of the twilight gloom this causes. Shocked the bejabbers outta me. I didn't think that modern roads were narrow enough for that... but in the hills between MD and PA they are. Was cool in an odd way.
Predictions for the day had been 81-83degrees with scattered afternoon showers, at least the last I checked on Sunday. We got? 84 degrees, mainly sunshine with scattered clouds. Nice breeze for the most part and some awesome cloud formations.
Longwood is a very old, very famous garden and conservatory. DuPont started the Garden and Conservatory after he purchased the Arboretum from the Quaker family that had owned it previously. It still has one of the best and most complete collections of North American native trees extant. It also now houses some of the loveliest flower gardens, plant collections and greenhouse/conservatories in the world.
I adored the US Botanical Gardens last month, they are awesome and gorgeous, packed with things in a small, compact area. Longwood sprawls over acres and acres and more acres. There are the Idea Garden, the Italian Water Garden, Pierce's Woods (several acres by itself), the Meadow Garden, the Flower Walk, the Topiary Garden, the Rose Garden, the main Fountain Garden, the Hillside Garden, the main entry Garden, Container gardens, Show Gardens and the Conservatory.
We arrived slightly after 10am. There was a nice little 4min show about the gardens. We got maps, a pair of booklets - one about the gardens and conservatory and one on the special exhibits on fragrances and scents. And off we went. Yes, we knew better than to stay in the sun all day and yes we took breaks.
We hit the high ground first - the Eye of Water and the Carillon below it. So up the hill and then down into the valley that holds the estate and gardens. Through the Hillside Garden. Then the Rose Garden and the Topiaries. Then past the Main Water Garden and into the Conservatory.
The Conservatory is divided in areas. Which makes sense and means we went in and out and around and back to that door and then over to that one. At noon we broke for lunch just in time to catch the water show at the Main Fountain Garden in front of the Conservatory. Sore feet rested up as we leaned back on nice benches under deep shadow of holly trees planted in 1923. After about 30 minutes, we were back up and in the conservatory.
An hour and 1/2 later my digital camera gave me the first warning of having a low battery. No more macro use. And I cut down the shots I was striving for - inside meant too many flash anyway.
Off we went to the tree houses Liz had wanted to see. First one, the Birdhouse was awesome. Twenty feet high. Skylight above. Skylight (?) in middle of porch looking down (Not for me... nope, nope). I stayed on ground thank you very much. Liz went up and came back down.
Next one was rather blah. Very open and it had a good view of the meadows. It also had a working bee hive in between heavy clear PVC panels. Sorry but bee stings are so not my thing. Wasp stings make me swell up like a balloon so I don't risk bees. Off we went to the Italian Water Garden and the Cathedral treehouse. Got there at 2 which meant the water fountains were dancing so we could not go into the garden and could only watch from side lines.
Camera last battery warning came on here so those are the last pics. By then last series of gardens are all up hill. My hip was screaming murder. My feet were no longer screaming but rather numb. I was tired. Liz had bad reaction to whatever sealant they used on Cathedral tree house. So slowly we headed up to exit.
Through part of Pearce's Woods. Through the Flower Garden Walk. Up stairs. Up hillside slope. Butterflies everywhere - monarchs, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Skippers, Duskies, and more that I don't recognize. A few more cardinals. A sparrow. Crows and more crows cawing from trees but unseen. Squirrels. Chickadees and fluffy looking little birds I can't name. A bright yellow and black bird that zoomed through the garden like Harry Potter chasing a snitch.
3pm and we're at the car... not quite 5 hours of almost constant, albeit slow, walking. Oh it was fun. 469 photos. Very sore feet. Painful hip (no clue what caused that, tis a new pain and I'm afraid it's the RA). Exhausted. But so very much in a good way.
First pics are up. Working on cleaning up the others.
why?
We went ages ago, when Liz was 8, going on 9. We enjoyed it. We ran ourselves out of film. We saw so many things... but that was 11 years ago.
Anyway... off we went at 7am. We had to stop for gas because I forgot to go last night which of course added to our time. Caught a little traffic but were still there easily within the 2 1/2 hours Google Maps predicted. Nice drive too. Crazy thing is that in Cecil Co, MD there be roads that the oak and maple trees meet overhead and you have to drive with lights on in daylight because of the twilight gloom this causes. Shocked the bejabbers outta me. I didn't think that modern roads were narrow enough for that... but in the hills between MD and PA they are. Was cool in an odd way.
Predictions for the day had been 81-83degrees with scattered afternoon showers, at least the last I checked on Sunday. We got? 84 degrees, mainly sunshine with scattered clouds. Nice breeze for the most part and some awesome cloud formations.
Longwood is a very old, very famous garden and conservatory. DuPont started the Garden and Conservatory after he purchased the Arboretum from the Quaker family that had owned it previously. It still has one of the best and most complete collections of North American native trees extant. It also now houses some of the loveliest flower gardens, plant collections and greenhouse/conservatories in the world.
I adored the US Botanical Gardens last month, they are awesome and gorgeous, packed with things in a small, compact area. Longwood sprawls over acres and acres and more acres. There are the Idea Garden, the Italian Water Garden, Pierce's Woods (several acres by itself), the Meadow Garden, the Flower Walk, the Topiary Garden, the Rose Garden, the main Fountain Garden, the Hillside Garden, the main entry Garden, Container gardens, Show Gardens and the Conservatory.
We arrived slightly after 10am. There was a nice little 4min show about the gardens. We got maps, a pair of booklets - one about the gardens and conservatory and one on the special exhibits on fragrances and scents. And off we went. Yes, we knew better than to stay in the sun all day and yes we took breaks.
We hit the high ground first - the Eye of Water and the Carillon below it. So up the hill and then down into the valley that holds the estate and gardens. Through the Hillside Garden. Then the Rose Garden and the Topiaries. Then past the Main Water Garden and into the Conservatory.
The Conservatory is divided in areas. Which makes sense and means we went in and out and around and back to that door and then over to that one. At noon we broke for lunch just in time to catch the water show at the Main Fountain Garden in front of the Conservatory. Sore feet rested up as we leaned back on nice benches under deep shadow of holly trees planted in 1923. After about 30 minutes, we were back up and in the conservatory.
An hour and 1/2 later my digital camera gave me the first warning of having a low battery. No more macro use. And I cut down the shots I was striving for - inside meant too many flash anyway.
Off we went to the tree houses Liz had wanted to see. First one, the Birdhouse was awesome. Twenty feet high. Skylight above. Skylight (?) in middle of porch looking down (Not for me... nope, nope). I stayed on ground thank you very much. Liz went up and came back down.
Next one was rather blah. Very open and it had a good view of the meadows. It also had a working bee hive in between heavy clear PVC panels. Sorry but bee stings are so not my thing. Wasp stings make me swell up like a balloon so I don't risk bees. Off we went to the Italian Water Garden and the Cathedral treehouse. Got there at 2 which meant the water fountains were dancing so we could not go into the garden and could only watch from side lines.
Camera last battery warning came on here so those are the last pics. By then last series of gardens are all up hill. My hip was screaming murder. My feet were no longer screaming but rather numb. I was tired. Liz had bad reaction to whatever sealant they used on Cathedral tree house. So slowly we headed up to exit.
Through part of Pearce's Woods. Through the Flower Garden Walk. Up stairs. Up hillside slope. Butterflies everywhere - monarchs, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Skippers, Duskies, and more that I don't recognize. A few more cardinals. A sparrow. Crows and more crows cawing from trees but unseen. Squirrels. Chickadees and fluffy looking little birds I can't name. A bright yellow and black bird that zoomed through the garden like Harry Potter chasing a snitch.
3pm and we're at the car... not quite 5 hours of almost constant, albeit slow, walking. Oh it was fun. 469 photos. Very sore feet. Painful hip (no clue what caused that, tis a new pain and I'm afraid it's the RA). Exhausted. But so very much in a good way.
First pics are up. Working on cleaning up the others.