located at 1001 longwood rd. in kennett square, pa, if you are a gnome and a lover of gardens extraordinaire...or even if your not a gnome and just like pretty things...longwood gardens is the place for you. a $20 entrance fee (i suggest purchasing your tickets ahead of time and receiving a 'timed' ticket because showing up at the gate and finding out they are sold out would be a bummer...they don't like having the gardens too 'full' you see, they want you to experience it without crowds) is worth paying when you see what you get in return. the property on which longwood gardens resides has a rich history dating back to the 1700's, which i am not going to get into, but i will tell you that the gardens are the result of pierre du pont's vision. it started out as a 600 foot garden walk and has grown into a massive 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands and meadows. bring your walking shoes, you're gonna need them! if you plan on seeing everything...allow yourself the whole day. i recommend getting there when it opens (9:00 a.m.) and bring your camera. i walked the entirety of the place (that's a lie, i skipped the 'meadows' area because it seemed to be a lot of bird watching, which just isn't my thing...unless i am allowed to eat them, and i am guessing that's frowned upon at longwood gardens) and there's a lot to see. don't skip the du pont home, that's where you learn the history of the place and you can sit for a while on the front porch in a rocking chair to rest and take a break from the sun (it was quite warm out the day i went)...all that was missing was the lemonade...but wait, it wasn't! grab yourself a freshly squeezed lemonade and ice cream at the 'cafe'. i didn't sit inside to enjoy my lemonade as it was set up as cafeteria style and the noise level was through the roof. but not to worry, i took myself (and my lemonade) out the front door of the 'cafe'' and found a nice grassy knoll to plant myself on so i could people watch and soak up the sunshine.
now it says on the webiste that you are most definitely not allowed to bring in your own food and drinks, as they want you to patronize their restaurants, which i did...but...i did notice an awful lot of folks eating bagged lunches through out the grounds. so i suppose it's up to you if you want to chance getting a finger point and a 'tsk tsk' from security for eating a sandwich you brought from home. i ate my bagged lunch (along with a bottle of wine...fancy...pinky out!) at the nearby picnic tables designated for 'lunch' which wasn't very exciting, but no one bothered me about my wine, so there's that.
i went about my day popping in and out of flower beds, listening to other folks saying 'oh how cute, they brought their own gnome' and i am assuming these folks never got a good look at me, most times i get crumpled noses and 'ew, that's ugly', which i am used to so not to worry. i'm a zombie, it happens.
my favorite photo of the day is of me in a bed of yellow and red tulips. gorgeous, i mean just beautiful flowers all around me...except within in my general vinicity. it appears that even the flowers won't grow near a poor old zombie gnome :)
if you have any additional info or any questions, please feel free to contact me. make sure you stop by my facebook page for more fun photos of my day at longwood gardens. on to my next adventure...
