After our visit to Winterthur, we headed for Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. It really was nice but somehow I was disappointed. I had heard so many wonderful things and I suppose I just had my expectations higher than they should have been.
On
the day we arrived the fountains were supposed to be turned
on however,
only a few of them were operating. It was early in the season
and not much was in bloom. Mostly I think it was seeing Winterthur with it's beautiful woodland gardens first.
That
being said I did very much enjoy some of the garden. I saw
large patches of bloodroot and trilliums in 
full bloom.
The
greenhouse was large and full of lush plants. It covers over
four acres and houses 20 indoor gardens. The mediterrian,
silver and fern gardens were among my favorites.
I'm
not a fan of topiary but there was a large garden full of spirals,
cones, birds and even a chair and table. The children's
garden, the rose garden as well as the other
gardens were not yet
awaken for the year.
Perhaps
the most interesting thing I saw was a sign on a large span of lawn
that read:
"What is the Perfect Lawn? You may notice dandelions and other weeds in the Turfgrass at Longwood. In an effort to be better stewards of the land and reduce the use of herbicides, Longwood has chosen to tolerate rather than chemically eliminate all lawn weeds. Cultural methods are used to reduce the use of herbicides on lawns, such as planting improved turfgrass varieties, raising mowing heights to shade seed competitors, and fertilizing in fall to maintain balanced nutrient levels. "
This
is exactly the
principles I encourage as a Master Gardener when talking to clients
about lawn care (we call it the Great 'Scapes program) and it really
made me feel good to see a public garden
as famous as Longwood also adopting these good practices.
I
suspect my opinion of Longwood Gardens will change when I visit later
in the spring or early summer which hopefully I will do soon.
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