Longwood Gardens '13

One of our favorite places we fell in love with two years ago was Longwood Gardens. I remember the first time we stepped foot into this huge garden I felt as if I was in a different country. This is certainly one place you can escape form the world to feel tranquility, and take in all of Gods beautiful creations. Once again we spent all day here, and walked every acre of this garden...and then some!

Noah had his children's map in hand, and was our little navigator today. 

Entering the children's garden was more fun for him this year since he's a little bit older. Since he loves to get wet, he and Chelsea took advantage of it. Too bad we didn't bring their swimsuits. They do provide towels as your exiting the area, but luckily they didn't get too, too wet where they needed a change of clothing.

This was a pretty cool attraction in the childrens garden. There are paint brushes in which you get wet, and the kids were painting this dragon with them. This area was all about getting wet. 

I can't remember if they had lily pads on display the first time we came here, but these were so cool! This would be a perfect place for a wedding reception! (okay...that was random!)

This spot near the bell tower is my favorite. We can sit here all day listening to the sounds of the water flowing, and the carillon of the bells. If only I had one of these in my backyard. 

One thing the girls look forward to is the water fountain show. This time we viewed it from up on top where the girls got a tad bit wet, and getting cooled off was needed as the day was pretty humid! It was awesome! 

Dude...it was so humid I felt like jumping in this coin pond!

And...

Since when did these girls become taller than me???? I feel like a shrimp compared to them. I'm five foot nothing, yet my eight year old is one shoe size away from mine! You've got to be kidding me!

Walking among a row of flowers is so breathtaking. It makes me want to be a botanist or something. Everything here is just so beautiful, and well kept.  

Hydrangeas, hydrangeas, hydrangeas! They are my favorite.

This truly is one of our favorite attractions in Pennsylvania. Coming here on a hot, humid day was totally worth it. They have water fountains all over the garden (just in case you forget to bring your water bottles), and a delicious cafe inside. We loved this day, and the rain made the day cooler which also made for taking better pictures. I love my family, and we love venturing out together.

Like I wrote in a previous post. We are taking advantage of our time as a family of six before we are down to five...at least until the fall.

excuse those of us with our eyes closed. some sweet old lady took our photo, and only took one! 

Longwood Gardens

If you have a love for flowers, french grandeur, and just want to relax and pretend you are in a different country... clear your schedule for the day, put on your tennis shoes, and take a drive to Longwood Gardens. This place is breathtaking! It has 1077 acres of unparalleled beauty. I couldn't believe the array of flowers that were planted throughout this enormous garden. We pretty much spent the whole day here!

We took notice of all the natural beauty that we were surrounded with, and we took our time viewing every attraction. The grounds are well maintained. It's amazing how Pennsylvania has such great soil and the perfect climate for tulips, bulbs, daffodils and all kinds of flowers to flourish without a flaw.

We went through a topiary garden that consisted of evergreen yews which are meticulously clipped into whimsical shapes. Since I LOVE anything with birds...I had to get a picture with it.

This Scottie dog yew reminds me of little Noah!

There were also birdhouse tree houses that looked like an actual tree house! These tree houses seemed big enough to live inside. It would be so nice if we had one of these in our backyard! The kids can play in this all day long.

Sierra running up the stairs

all the girls looking down below

 There is a chimes tower with a beautiful waterfall nearby. The sound of the water falling was so relaxing. It was a pretty warm day and we were tempted to jump in, but we didn't. 

On the steps that lead up to the chimes tower

Three times a day the bells chime to let us know that it's time for the main fountain show. It was pretty cool. Not as cool as the fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but it was fun for the kids to see.    

fountain show

They also have a conservatory which housed many different flowers. My husband and I took so many photos. I wish I could put them all on this blog post, but there are just too many. I've added a few of my favorite flowers...

Hydrangeas..my favorite flower

Jon found this cool Bonsai tree

and I found this cool banana tree

Chelsea endured the endless walking and was such a good sport

I can't believe we walked every acre of this garden and it only took us about five hours to do it. This has now become on of our favorite attractions in Pennsylvania, and it is a place for us to go to relax and learn about horticulture, garden design, and art.

*Ever been to Longwood Gardens?

*Did you know that it can take years for the topiaries to develop in their desired forms? (poor bird!)