Afternoon Adventure: Longwood Gardens

A month ago my family met up in Philadelphia to celebrate my sister's graduation. We had some free time before the festivities began, so we drove about an hour outside of the city to the Brandywine Valley, former home of painter Andrew Wyeth and current location of some absolutely beautiful estates and gardens.

We spent the early afternoon at Longwood Gardens, a stunning estate with acres of gardens and a classic conservatory. Because it was Mother's Day, we had to navigate wandering crowds, but the whole place is so big that we hardly noticed most of the time.

Longwood began as a farm and arboretum built by the Peirce family, who purchased the property from William Penn way back in 1700. As Quakers, the Peirces respected the land and focused on planting and preserving native trees. By the time industrialist Pierre du Pont purchased the land from the Peirces in 1906, Longwood was already known for its collection of trees and aesthetic beauty.

But it was Pierre du Pont who slowly molded the property into what we see today. He used his immense fortune and his interest in conservation to develop the property, designing a range of gardens, building a gorgeous conservatory to house indoor plants, and installing of-the-moment fountains around the grounds. Inspired by the world's fairs he visited in his youth, he referenced the architecture and horticultural designs he saw at these fairs, making for an estate that is at once rooted in the past and forward-looking.

We could have spent all day at Longwood. Because we wanted to check out another estate (and eat lunch), we had to drag ourselves away after a few hours, but I definitely want to go back. We wandered through the fountain gardens, where my dad marveled at the 1930s-designed pumps.

I took a few too many pictures of utterly indulgent garden fixtures that I really, really want in my someday-garden, like follies and walls of sculpted fountains.

We spent a long time in the vegetable and fruit gardens, where I took copious notes on scenic fencing and supports for climbing vines. (And I crushed on rows of raspberry bushes.)

Horticultural Dome, Chicago World's Fair

Just before we left, we stopped in the conservatory, which reminded me of all those long-ago photographs of the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, with its huge hanging plants and light-filled rooms. (It also made me feel like I'd stepped into the steampunk world of Bioshock Infinite, which begins at an alternate version of the 1893 Exposition.)

Longwood is the perfect place to slow down and relax for a day if you're in the Philadelphia area. We left inspired and refreshed, and that's exactly what we needed on a busy graduation weekend.


Works cited: Longwood Gardens History. Paul V. Galvin Library, World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Valentine's crafts

Dispatch from the blizzard: we survived, with nary a power loss! Others in Rhode Island were not so lucky, and I'm thinking of those wrapped up in blankets or staying in emergency shelters. It's going to be chilly tonight.

We stayed indoors most of the time, watching the snow fall and catching up on shows or reading. After the worst of the snow had stopped Saturday morning, we joined our apartment neighbors in shoveling the two feet of snow out of our shared driveway. Someone turned on a car radio, and someone else made a Game of Thrones joke ("Winter is coming." "Dude, winter came."), and all in all it was actually kind of fun. But today, man, my arms are sore. Also, we have twin pillars of snow on either side of the driveway, which makes getting in and out an adventure. Josh thinks it looks like the entrance to Mordor.


I took advantage of the quiet weekend to make some Valentine's crafts. My sister and I have this funny tradition: every Valentine's Day we mail each other fake cards from celebrities. So in the days leading up to the holiday, I haul out my pretty papers and rubber cement and troll the Internet for a handsome photo of Lissa's latest celebrity love. (Or of someone who could pass for a celebrity love. Sometimes we have to get creative.)

It started when I was in college, when we were both bemoaning our single fates and she was still suffering through high school Valentine's Day frenzies. (There is little that can make you more aware of your singledom than watching other girls at your all-girls school receive flowers from their boyfriends at the front office.) I made Lissa a card from our favorite Norwegian singer, and thus a tradition was born. I have a pile of the cards she's sent me over the years--James Dean, spymaster George Smiley, Rooster Cogburn (sometimes these are more tongue-in-cheek)--and they make me laugh.

This year's card I'm keeping a surprise, but it was great fun cutting out paper and writing silly messages in beautiful ink. No offense, Josh, but this might be my favorite part of Valentine's Day.

If you were stuck inside during the snowstorm, how did you keep yourself busy? Do you have any Valentine's crafts to share?