North American Public Gardens
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: North American Public Gardens
- From: L*@aol.com
- Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 13:40:04 EDT
> I would be very interested to know what gardens
> in North America that are open to the public, list members
> find inspirational. And why they find them an inspiration.
>
> Louise English, Surrey, England
Louise,
Many people, myself included, think Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania is our best. It was developed by Pierre S. du Pont, Chairman of
DuPont and General Motors, so perhaps it is the closest thing we have to
royal gardens. The garden's history dates from 1700. DuPont bought the
property around the turn of the last century. Today it is over 1000 glorious
acres of gardens, fountains and conservatories. To me, what makes this
garden so special is the attention to design. There are magnificent vistas
from every angle. Walking in Longwood, I saw come to life for the first time
the design principles I had learned in school and read in books. There I had
an epiphany -- I finally got it! You can visit Longwood at
http://www.longwoodgardens.org/
Hopefully, someday you will visit in person. If you do, I would suggest also
going to Winterthur, nearby in Delaware. Winterthur is not as grand, but is
truly splendid in the spring when the azaleas are in bloom in the woodlands.
The National Arboretum in Washington, DC, is also nearby and worth the trip.
And, Louise, if you ever come to St. Louis, I would be delighted to take you
through our own Missouri Botanical Gardens. Until then, you can visit at
http://www.mobot.org/. For a virtual tour, go to
http://www.mobot.org/mobot/tour/
--Janis
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