Longwood Gardens

I'm back with another installment of our trip to Pennsylvania. On our last day there, we drove to Longwood Gardens. It was about 1 1/2 hours from our hotel, but was worth the drive. It exceeded any expectations we had of it!
This land was purchased in 1906 by Pierre DuPont so he could preserve the trees that were there. They had been planted by a Quaker family named Pierce, who had owned the property since the 1700's. They had an interest in botany and had planted many trees and started one of the first public parks. Mr DuPont took care of it until his death in 1954 and created much of what is enjoyed today.
This garden is huge and I took so many pictures that I can't put them all in one post. I put many of them into collages to make it easier for you to view them.

Here are just a few of the nooks, walls and pathways we encountered!

The original home of the DuPont's remains on the grounds

This shows the center courtyard in the house along with the arched doors on the side of the courthouse. The stairway is in the entry of the house.

Here is the grand ballroom along with the organ that is in it. There were several rooms filled with different organ pipes.

There was a section filled with bonsai trees. The 3rd tree from the right was started in 1906. They are each about 12-18 inches tall and are trees or bushes that are quite common. The first one is a type of cypress, the second an azalea and the last is a birch.

This is called the Canopy Cathedral. It's a fancy tree house.

I don't know what this plant is, but I liked the curtain effect.

There was a large area filled with topiary. What fun!

This is 7 acres filled with fountains.

Another spot filled with ponds and water lilies.

This is a type of water lily. It's called a platter lily.

All through the gardens are inviting little areas to sit and take it in. I think this is a good place to stop. I'll be back tomorrow with more from the gardens.