No hike this week; we hosted my mother-in-law and took her to Longwood, a stupendous public garden west of Philly: check out this map of the conservatory. The carnivorous plants would have delighted the Addams family, and we liked the silvery succulents and the bonsai. While my camerado and his mum toured the DuPont house I went to see the new treehouses--the rustic materials and setting contrasted nicely with the grace and sophistication of the designs. Many arboretums are adding treehouses. HOORAY FOR TREEHOUSES!
Longwood also added a serpentine corridor to the conservatory--with a living wall:
I had read about living walls but this is the first I'd seen in person.
The museums and gardens of the Delaware Valley were a haven and an education for me growing up. It's great to see one growing in smart ways, while respecting its heritage.
Longwood has been significant to my family: we celebrated the second anniversary of my mom's transplant there, and, for some reason, went after my cousin's funeral--I guess because we didn't know what else to do. While my newly-abbreviated family and I were looking at the view from the Italian garden, a girl I was seeing at the time put her arm around me and whispered, I'm bored, can we leave?
The Italian garden looks a little stark this time of year, I took the picture above the first time my camerado and I went to Longwood--he was quickly surfeited with the formal gardens and wanted to see the woods and meadow--a choice I found baffling at the time, because you can see woods and meadows anywhere.
I've seen a lot of woods and meadows with him since that time and can attest that no two are alike. We'll be back in Chester County for our next hike, where we hope to see some paw-paw trees and Brandywine blue gneiss.
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