Longwood Gardens photo link

I posted a gallery of some of our photos on Kodak. They progress from the entry to: the children's garden, the east conservatory, the main conservatory, the mediterranean room, the arcade, the orchid room, the under glass growing areas, tropicals and rose houses. Then we went to the Pierce House after which we returned to the conservatories for the evening view. The outdoor decorations were beautiful, my attempts to photograph them were no justice to them. I'm hoping someone else captured a few good shots. Sorry, I found the children's area quite appealing and whimsical, there are a few too many shots of it. Ric
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=869389897211%3A157013260&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_button

Awesome pix! What a beautiful place!

Couldn't wait to see what I had missed. Thanks for filling the void. The pictures are beautiful, especially the ones where I get to see you guys.

The pictures are great! I was there and I can't believe what I missed seeing. There is just so much to look at that you can't comprend it all. Really liked the last couple of the carpet with the hanging lites, I'm glad you got that shot since Sally and I had decided to head back. Great pictures!!

Cat it was very different in the Conservatory after dark. Ric kept saying I want to go back to the conservatory and see it at night. Boy I'm glad we did.
You and Sally would have froze though, we did spend a good bit of time out side after the two of you left. I just don't seem to mind the cold as much as I did when I was younger and thinner. Just pulled that cowl neck sweater up over the back of my head and across my face abit and I was good to go. LOL

Great photos..............I do not see many people in the pix. Was the place going broke? Glad you brought the pix home for us to see. I still think I made a good choice when I desided to stay home. I did not see a restroom sign in any of the pix. I know I could not stand the outside tour. LOL

It was pretty empty Doc there were a few areas that you would have had trouble like the children's area which was charming but I think you could have gotten through most of the placeswithout any trouble. I did see someone on a wheeled chair it wasn't very big. There were restrooms in the terrace restaurant and down stairs at the conservatory which had a downstairs entrance. I don't know how you would have handled the cold. It was brutal.

Awesome pics!! I was there last Christmas 08, and it was equally beautiful. Need to go back. Thanks for sharing. Snug, :o)

Rick............that's fine. I enjoy seeing you younger and stronger bodied souls enjoying the unknowns on a trip like this. You are right that cold would have left me enjoying the food service. I can no longer handle much stress of any kind to any great extent.

I like the Hershey gardens during the summer because I can rent a scooter and in warm weather poke about with my camera to my hearts content. If we are so lucky the kids can do the amusement park while I snoop about the roses or whatever. Our kids are all teenagers and up now. We can start them off at the amusements and pick them up at the pool. Meanwhile there is no conflict of interests. Go find grandpa is the biggest job of the day. All I need is a brown bag and an extra battery and card for the camera. Two way radios solve the hunt grandpa event.

LOL Doc, It use to be go find Ric. Now with the cell phones he can poke around all he wants and when I want him I just call. Ric and I would love to poke around Hershey Gardens with you this summer if we can arrange a date that works. Holly

fantastic shots!!!.. will revisit them again sat morning with my coffee... that last one is breath taking!!

Ric, thanks so much for sharing the beautiful photos from the expedition to Longwood's Christmas display. I'd hoped to get there with my gardening friend, but we ran out of days. This is almost like being there. How nice that it wasn't super crowded too; that certainly helps the photo ops! Barb

OK, let's see if I can get a few of these photos uploaded. Little Bit has been having fun looking at the pictures on the computer with me this afternoon...

I think I need to apologize to my DG buddies who were probably perpetually waiting for me while I was snapping photos... When I got them all downloaded, I discovered I'd shot 555 images, mostly with my little P&S. !! But there are some nice shots in there, along with some blurred ones LOL. I also try to take a quick snap of the name labels when I can spot them, so I can attach plant/cultivar name to the photos when I get them on the computer. Still, anyway you slice it, that was a lot of photos... and I appreciate everybody's patience!

I'll start with a few outside shots, so those who didn't make it can say "Brrrrrrr! I'm glad I wasn't there." LOL

I think this is the hanging beech that Ric mentioned...

And here's another specimen that looked fabulous all naked against the sky.

If you look closely, you might be able to see a cone of lights in the center, shaped like a Christmas tree... looked odd during the day but actually was pretty neat looking when it got fully dark.

We couldn't imagine the patience and sheer number of man hours that went into twining the lights around the trees... branch after branch was wrapped, like this:

As expected, the inside displays involved a lot of poinsettias. They were set off by a variety of white and silver plants, including some choices that we didn't expect.

Here Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' with a pale pink asiatic lily...



This message was edited Jan 6, 2010 4:36 PM

Pointsettia 'Da Vinci' with artemisia and magnolia

Paperwhites scented the air in some areas... much more delicately than they scent my house... I find even the ones that are supposed to be less strong can be pretty overwhelming.

Paperwhite 'Sheleg' with silvery Artemesia

We all loved this 'Shooting Star' lacecap hydrangea.

Here's Poinsettia 'Monet Twilight', combined with the delicate euphorbia and asiatic lilies pictured above.

a closer look at 'Monet Twilight'

Red poinsettia with white Kalanchoe -- very festive!

Poinsettia 'Cinnamon Star' had a more delicate beauty...

I keep forgetting that my garden could use some Winterberry holly for color... but I wonder how quickly the birds would find and strip the branches, LOL.

This variety is 'Maryland Beauty'

and who knew that Winterberry Holly came in a color other than red?

Here's 'Winter Gold'

I have never, ever before seen a poinsettia grown as a standard... stunning!

Here's Ric, my fellow shutterbug. He put some gorgeous photos in the link at the top of this thread!

He got a great shot of this succulent panel.

They said they assemble the plants on a panel filled with styrofoam and sphaghum and water it well just once before putting it on display... no water since... and as you can see, it looks great! The only way you can tell it's been hanging for some time is that some of the plants have started to crane their little necks skyward. :-)

... a closer look at a detail of the panel

The indoor landscape displays were incredibly lush, full of different textures and layers without being such a riot of color that your eye got exhausted.

blue spruces...

This room had a lot of blue and silver in it... here's the Christmas tree with the graceful blue butterflies (whose wings actually moved).

a closer look...

another tree whose decorations included fresh Granny Smith apples...

it wasn't only the Christmas trees that got decorated... these dragonflies and crystal-glitter balls were in the children's garden.

Get a load of this bright red dragonfly...

whoops, looks like the photo of the tree with the green apples didn't make it... trying again...

As Ric mentioned, the children's garden was truly extraordinary, with the most wonderful attention to detail.. fun statues and fountains everywhere!

Sally was intrigued by this clever little water feature with movable parts to channel the flow...

and Terri liked this door, even if it really was too short for her! ;-)

time for a few things that aren't poinsettias...

Bottlebrush bloom