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??????? (Your text here Sue)The descriptions below occur in the order that a
typical self-guided walking tour departing from the Gallery might take. The
distance covered is about ? kilometres and the estimated walking time is about ? hours.
The ?, combined with the ? Walk described in the West Garden Tour, is an
additional mile and adds about 1 hour. Select individual features below or scroll
down to read all descriptions consecutively.???????
Hi Sue will alter the above index and include new text and pictures when we get to that point.
Noteworthy plants: American elm, Ulmus americana; weeping beech, Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'; Japanese flowering dogwood, Cornus kousa; witch-hazel, Hamamelis cultivars; copper beech, Fagus sylvatica var. atropunicea; white oak, Quercus alba; princess tree, Paulownia tomentosa
This open lawn edged with magnificent trees was once a pasture, hence the name. Most impressive is a massive American elm immediately visible as you enter the Gardens from the Visitor Center; it is the sole survivor of an avenue of elms that succumbed to Dutch elm disease and has since been replaced with white oaks. The Japanese flowering dogwoods that bloom in June are some of the most spectacular to be seen anywhere. The massive allée of copper beeches along the northern path is deep purple in spring and coppery in fall; one 40'-tall, 8,000-pound beech was flown in by helicopter in November 1998 to replace a tree destroyed by a storm! The western edge was a magnificent, celebrated allée of princess trees that bloomed in May with spectacular upright clusters of purple flowers; the eastern half of the allée was cut down in 1998 because the trees were in decline, but it was replanted in late October 2000. The western half of the allée was replanted in April 2001.
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Noteworthy plants: American arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis; bald-cypress, Taxodium distichum; white saucer magnolia, Magnolia x soulangiana 'Alba'
Inspired by outdoor theaters in Europe and by his love of music and drama, Pierre du Pont built Longwood's Open Air Theatre in 1913-14. It was redesigned and enlarged in 1926-27. Dressing rooms for about 100 performers are located beneath the stage, and the auditorium lawn holds 1,500 chairs for spectators during the summer season. The 68-foot-wide stage is framed with clipped arborvitae; Kentucky coffee trees and Canada hemlocks tower over the stage from behind. An unusual water curtain rises 10 feet in front of the stage during performances, which include all types of music and theatre from folk and jazz to Gilbert & Sullivan operetta and Broadway musicals. Short daytime fountain displays are featured at 11 am and 1, 3, and 5 pm (rehearsals permitting) from June through October and more frequently during the Chrysanthemum Festival and Christmas Display (temperature permitting); see Fountains for a complete schedule. After some evening theater shows and from 5-9 pm during the Christmas Display, the fountains on the stage floor are illuminated by lights hidden below removable covers in the stage floor.
The Pirates of Penzance, Savoy Company, 1999
More views of 2002, 2001, 2001, 2000, 2000, 2000, 2000, 1999, 1998 performances
The 1914-1940 Garden Party entertainments given in the Theatre
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Noteworthy plants: trifoliate-orange, Poncirus trifoliata; Adam’s-needle, Yucca filamentosa var. concava; soapweed, Yucca glauca; blue fescue, Festuca; prickly-pear, Opuntia phaeacantha; lamb’s-ears, Stachys; Sedum; Sempervivum
The walled Theatre Garden was designed by Thomas Church and built in 1975 to replace a terraced garden designed by Pierre du Pont. It is now a garden for all seasons, a decorative patchwork of muted colors and extravagant textures. With spring come the perfumed blossoms of trifoliate-orange; yuccas and prickly-pears bloom in summer. The pink sedums in late summer change with the seasons, turning to ruby then russet, all the while complementing the red brick paving. In winter, vestiges of the growing season remain with strap-like yucca leaves, coarse sedum seedheads, fine tufts of ornamental grasses, and glossy green thorns of trifoliate-orange.
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Noteworthy plants: butterfly-bush, Buddleia alternifolia; golden oriental arborvitae, Platycladus orientalis 'Semperaurea'; cultivated varieties of the ornamental grass Miscanthus sinensis; purple smoke tree, Cotinus coggygria 'Velvet Cloak'; plus thousands of bulbs, annuals, biennials, and perennials from April through October.
Mr. du Pont created Longwood's first flower garden and fountain in 1907, siting these features a short walk south of the house. Today, the plantings bordering the 600-foot-long brick walk are a mixture of annual and perennial flowers, spring bulbs, woody shrubs, and ornamental grasses. Color plays an important role, progressing from cool lavenders and purples to warm yellows, reds, and oranges, ending in creams and whites. A semi-circular stone "whispering bench" terminates the eastern end of the walk. Sit on one end of the bench and have a friend sit at the other end. Cup your hand, whisper towards the center of the bench, and notice how your voice travels around the curve!
The Flower Garden Walk blooms from late April and early May (80,000 bulbs) through summer (annuals and perennials) until heavy frost in late October (chrysanthemums).
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Noteworthy plants: hybrid tree peonies, Paeonia lutea cultivated varieties; golden-chain tree, Laburnum x watereri 'Vossii'; hybrid astilbes, Astilbe x arendsii cultivated varieties; Siberian irises, Iris sibirica cultivated varieties
Dating from 1976, this "secret" garden room (once a sundial garden with boxwood parterre) was designed by Thomas Church and is on the western side of the 1908 Square Fountain pool. The Peony Garden derives its name from the shrubby hybrid tree peonies that bloom once a year in May. Colorful Siberian irises and golden-chain trees flower simultaneously; feathery astilbes extend the bloom period into June. A sundial and teak benches add architectural interest.
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This small water feature was built by Pierre du Pont in 1908 and served as a quiet reflection pool; later, a fountain jet was added. Along with the Round Fountain directly above it to the north on the Flower Garden Walk, it operates from 9 am until closing from mid April until mid October; see Fountains for a complete schedule. The beds surrounding the pool are planted with spring bulbs, then summer annuals, and finally with mums.
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Noteworthy plants: Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda 'Alba', 'Geisha', 'Longissima', 'Rosea', 'Royal Purple', 'Violacea Plena'
This garden room enclosed on all side by arborvitae was formerly planted with roses and later with peonies. Redesigned by Thomas Church (1902-1978), since 1976 it has featured lavender, purple, and white varieties of May-blooming Japanese wisteria. Here, this vigorous twining vine is grown on a heavy arbor and also is trained by Longwood gardeners into tiered tree forms supported by metal poles.
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Noteworthy plants: ginkgo, Ginkgo biloba; yellow cucumber magnolia, Magnolia acuminata var. subcordata 'Peirce's Park'; Kentucky-coffee tree, Gymnocladus dioicus
Joshua Peirce, a Quaker farmer, built the section of the brick house with the covered porch in 1730 (the porch dates from 1824). Successive generations of the Peirce family enlarged the modest farmhouse during the nearly two centuries it remained in their possession.
Mr. du Pont purchased the house and 202 acres in 1906. He expanded the dwelling in 1909 and again in 1914 to serve as his country home and first conservatory. The house was opened to the public in 1976 and now contains the Longwood Heritage Exhibit, a comprehensive collection of historic photos, artifacts, home movies, and video that tells the story of the stewards of the land who preserved and developed the property. The exhibit is open daily.
In front of the Peirce-du Pont House, down the grassy slope toward the Flower Garden Walk, are two trees planted circa 1798 less than 10 feet apart -- ginkgo and yellow cucumber magnolia. The yellow cucumber magnolia is the largest known specimen in the country.
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Noteworthy plants: Canada hemlock, Tsuga canadensis; cucumber magnolia, Magnolia acuminata; tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera; London plane, Platanus x acerifolia; littleleaf linden, Tilia cordata
During the 1800s, twins Joshua (1766-1851) and Samuel Peirce (1766-1838) collected and purchased many native and exotic trees. They planted them in straight rows on the land east of their farmhouse. Toward the end of the 19th century the property became known as Peirce's Park and was considered one of the finest collections of trees in the nation.
The ginkgo is an example of an exotic species originating from a remote area of China. It made its way to America via European plant collectors in the early 1800s. Canada hemlock, Pennsylvania's state tree, grows naturally in the United States and is an example of a native plant species collected by the Peirce brothers.
Pierre du Pont purchased the Peirce farm and arboretum in 1906 to save the trees from being cut for lumber. Some of the trees in Peirce's Park are approximately 200 years old. All are labeled with small brass tags on the north side of the trunks.
The Sylvan Fountain at the east end of the Park, with one of its 5 jets shooting up 40 feet, was constructed by Mr. du Pont in 1925-27 and is powered from the Italian Water Garden pumphouse. See Fountains for dates and times of operation.
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Noteworthy plants: foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia; creeping phlox, Phlox stolonifera; Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides; sweet azalea, Rhododendron arborescens; coast azalea, R. atlanticum; rosebay rhododendron, R. maximum; pinxterbloom azalea, R. periclymenoides; pinkshell azalea, R. vaseyi; American holly, Ilex opaca; Heuchera villosa; flowering dogwood, Cornus florida; oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia; columbine, Aquilegia canadensis; bottlebrush buckeye, Aesculus parviflora; pawpaw, Asimina triloba; Carolina silverbell, Halesia tetraptera; maidenhair fern, Adiantum pedantum
This 7-acre area is now known as Peirce's Woods to distinguish it from the larger Peirce's Park adjoining to the north and west. In the 19th century, the Peirces operated the property as a working farm, tapping the sugar maples here for syrup. George Washington Peirce (1814-1880) developed the entire arboretum and woods into a pleasure ground, adding rowboats on the nearby lake for the pleasure of guests and Chester County residents. Picnics and parties were frequent social events.
Today, Peirce's Woods has been developed as an "art form" garden that brings together the most ornamental characteristics of the eastern deciduous forest. Under the high branches of oak, ash, maple, and tulip trees, sweeps of native shrubs and native ground cover plantings carpet the woodland floor, punctuated by flowering understory trees. Various "rooms" have been created within the woods, with emphasis on fragrant native deciduous azaleas blooming from early spring to summer. The concept of using native plants to create the woodland garden as an art form is new to Longwood and is one of the first such projects in any public garden.
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Noteworthy plants: littleleaf linden, Tilia cordata; English ivy, Hedera helix; inkberry, Ilex glabra 'Compacta'
Pierre du Pont's love of water and fountains is embodied in this garden. Pruned littleleaf linden trees, clipped ivy, and green lawns surround 6 large and 12 small blue-tiled pools. The basic layout of the garden is similar to one seen by Mr. and Mrs. du Pont at the Villa Gamberaia, near Florence, Italy, on their 1913 European trip, with the addition of 600 jets of water and a water staircase that together recirculate 4,500 gallons of water each minute.
This garden underwent a complete restoration in 1991-92 to return it to its 1954 appearance. The underground plumbing and drainage systems use state-of-the-art technology, and the fountain display is now computer operated. New blue tile was made in Italy, and most of the limestone carvings were reused.
The fountains run daily from mid April until mid October, 9:15 am-5:45 pm and until dusk on fountain nights; see Fountains for a complete schedule.
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Noteworthy plants: little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium (formerly Andropogon scoparium); goldenrod, Solidago spp.; New England aster, Aster novae-angliae; butterfly-weed, Asclepias tuberosa
This meadow represents the first stage in the natural succession process, the progressive replacement of one plant community by another, from pasture to forest. To maintain the meadow in its present state without continuing toward forest, Longwood mows or burns it once a year in late winter to prevent tree and shrub growth. Some of the native wildflowers were introduced (planted) into the meadow by Longwood horticulturists; others established themselves independently from seed dispersed by wind or by animals from nearby areas. Invasive weeds, such as Japanese honeysuckle and Canada thistle, are controlled by cutting and by applying selective herbicide sprays. The meadow is particularly attractive in late summer and fall and is alive with moths, butterflies, bees, and birds. The paths are mowed for the convenience of visitors.
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Noteworthy plants: bottlebrush buckeye, Aesculus parviflora; golden weeping willow, Salix x sepulcralis; double weeping Higan cherry, Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula Plena Rosea'; bald-cypress, Taxodium distichum
The spring-fed lakes and rolling green lawns in this area are reminiscent of English parks. Always of interest are the bald-cypresses growing in and near one end of the Small Lake. The unusual cypress knees are thought to help support the trees in swampy conditions and to store energy in the form of starch, but there is no conclusive data to support either of these theories.
In April, the lawns around both the Small and Large Lakes are punctuated with clusters of daffodils. Daylilies color the bank of the Large Lake in July, and yellow, orange, and red fall foliage from the sylvan slopes of Peirce's Woods is reflected from the lake's surface during October. The watery habitat is also home to a diverse animal population including Canada geese, frogs, bluegills, golden orf fish, and raccoons.
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Noteworthy plants: bald-cypress, Taxodium distichum; dark green arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis 'Nigra'
This 600-foot-long avenue parallels the Flower Garden Walk. A magnificent allée of 27 huge bald-cypresses fronted by an arborvitae hedge provides a stately backdrop for a double flower border whose planting plan is redesigned each year.
The bald-cypresses shown above on the north side of the drive were planted by the Peirces in the 19th century, augmented by replacements made by Mr. du Pont. In 1947 he planted all the trees along the south side of the drive. Today, replacements are occasionally made as needed.
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Noteworthy plants: large-flowered climbing roses, Rosa 'American Pillar'
This circular arbor is covered with pink roses in June. During the bloom period, the enclosure serves as one of the outdoor staging areas for concerts. In the center of the arbor is an old Italian wellhead that was given to Longwood in 1970.
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