Kennett Square Things to Do

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We visited Longwood Gardens the last week of July and were amazed by the beautiful riot of color all over the gardens. Some of their most effective displays used rather common flowers in uncommon ways such as Alamanda and Lantana standards in a sea of coleus and sunflowers. Or Caladiums in red and green with bright red and green cannas. The shade garden has cardinal flowers, ferns, and iris along a creek complete with bridges.

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WATER FEATURES are an important part of the Longwood experience. Generally they can be grouped into two types: Lakes and fountains.

In this series of photographs (5) I will show you some of the lake features.

When I worked here long ago (1966...see my "Off the Beaten Path" review) I thought this first photograph showed a scene that was the most beautiful spot on the earth.

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THE WATERFALL, ALTHOUGH MAN-MADE, IS beautiful to see and to hear. It is turned on each morning and off again at night.

In 1966 we had a contest among student interns to design something of interest at the point where the water begins flowing above the falls. I designed a gazebo and had the water flowing out from underneath it. My design didn't win the contest but they also didn't accept any of the other designs. Hwever a couple of years later they came up with the "Eye of Water" feature, shown in my photos. It certainly is unique.

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In the summers, Longwood Gardens has a beautiful fountain display 3 times a day at 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00. It is held in the main fountain garden and it breathtaking. Water sprays up into the air in many different configurations. It's magnificent. We didn't stay for the display at night but they feature music and illuminated fountain shows 3 nights a week. This 5 acre fountain garden was developed from 1928-31. There is also an Italian Garden in another part of Longwood, which is a wonderful fountain garden designed like the one Mr. and Mrs. DuPont saw at the Villa Gamberaia, near Florence, Italy on their 1913 European trip.

There are a number of fountains throughout Longwood Gardens. Pictured here are the fountains in the Open Air Theater that Pierre Dupont built between 1913-14. There is a stage where all sorts of musical performances are held. There is seating for up to 1500 guests and throughout the day, there are fountain displays (at 11 am and 1, 3, and 5 pm). The Christmas displays are especially good.

Originally the Square Fountain was just a pool that Dupont built in 1908, but later the fountain was added. There is also a Round Fountain just above this one and, of course, flowers surrounding it all.

This giant fountain was inspired by a similar "Ojo de Agua" in Costa Rica. It was built in 1968 and acts as a reservoir for the nearby Waterfall and Main Fountain Garden. The pressure is kept at a steady 5000 gallons per minute throughout most of the day, but there is a daytime display when an enormous flow of water bursts up in the air making this one of the largest fountains you'll ever see. It runs from April to October and there is a schedule on the Longwood Gardens website (www.longwoodgardens.org).

This is pretty cool. You'll notice a couple half-moon shaped cement benches around the gardens and if two people sit on opposite ends and whisper into the cement, you can clearly hear each other as if you were only inches apart. My nephew got a real kick out of playing this game!!