A Longwood Gardens PhotoJournal - Part One

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My husband planned a birthday surprise for me that included a trip to Longwood Gardens! Well, it was going to be a surprise, but because it also involved an overnight stay in Lancaster and required reservations, he did tell me where we were going before we packed up and left. Anyway, seeing Longwood Gardens - and their Christmas season light display - has been on my bucket list for awhile, so it was a great birthday gift. We arrived at Longwood in the early afternoon, so we spent the first part of our day largely in the conservatory and saved most of the outdoor walking for later on when the lights started coming on.

The topiary garden is not open to walk through at this time, but can still be viewed over the hedge.

The conservatory is huge and I would have been hopelessly lost if left on my own! The entrance features fountains and was decked out for the holidays.

Poinsettias, cyclamen, paper-whites and other flowers associated with the season are prominently featured.

In this section, outside the music room, poinsettia 'trees' seem to be floating in a fountain pool.

The music room window is open to that section too. What a view!

Not everything is Christmas-y, although every section featured at least one "Christmas tree" designed with different plants. We enjoyed so many different flowers and plants, including lilies, ferns, cacti, succulents, roses, hibiscus, and too many others to name.

So many variations on the orchid theme!

And the bonsai were fascinating.

After the conservatory, we took a hot chocolate break and then went to the train garden. We found Thomas the Tank Engine and his friend Percy being very useful engines.

We climbed up into one of the treehouses for a birds-eye view of some of the grounds.

And toured the DuPont family's home. 

It was so warm inside the house, with so many people there and we had to either wear or carry our coats, so we didn't linger. We headed over the musical fountain display next and by that time the lights all over the park were just starting to come on. I'll save those pictures for another post!

This post is linked up at Chestnut Grove Academy's Friday Field Trip Blog Hop.
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