I've longed for a visit to Longwood Gardens for many years and finally that dream came true! After a trip to Washington (read that blog here) we took the trip out to Longwood to meander the exciting botanic garden. I know some horticulturalists who worked at Longwood during their training and each have said it is a really special place. They weren't kidding!
From the moment I entered into the gardens, I knew it was going to be an epic day. The most wonderful fall pumpkin display greeted us and then long, abundant perennial borders colour coded! I loves how blocks were orange, then yellow then white and so on. The Italian Garden with it's formal water features and ornate steps, alongside the woodlands full of trees and wildlife are nothing short of stunning. From topiary to roses, it was all there in big style.
The conservatory was home to a Chrysthanthemum display along with an wonderful Orchid display. There were Chrysthanthemums displayed in the Japanese technique called Ozukuri. It looks quite spectacular and is where one single plant has one single flower on the end of one single branch. It's to produce the maximum flowers on a single branch and according to the National Garden Clubs Inc, the largest specimen ever recorded was in Japan with over 2,200 flowers! I still think Chrysthanthemums are hugely underrated.
Wandering through the Lily garden, the giant Lily pads are awesome and in my excitement a lovely gent at asked me where I was from and told me how two of the Lily platters were crossed to make the bee's knees of platters. Victoria cruziana and Victoria amazonica became Victoria 'Longwood Hybrid' in partnership with Kew Gardens in London. Take a look at the photos HERE
My eyes were darting about, my heart was pounding and there were moments of sheer joy that could not be contained! Peirce du Pont exhibition was super interesting, it's great to read about the history of the gardens and who were the people behind the plants.
If you ever get the chance - go!
More photos on my Instagram @ellenmarygardening HERE
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