I just got back from the Philadelphia Flower Show. I didn’t pick up any recipes, but the show was definitely “cooking”. We had such a good time; I thought I’d share some thoughts.
Bruce Williams led a group of 44 on a bus trip that had five stops; we left Wilmington early and drove to Richmond, VA to see the Lewis Ginter Gardens. Ginter is a nice stop if you are making your way north on 95. It has a decent size conservatory, some beautiful, well marked gardens, and made an excellent lunch stop. Our accommodations for three nights were in Wilmington, Delaware. We started our next day at Longwood Gardens. Wow! The Conservatory there is measured in acres and every square inch was great. Even at this time of year, Longwood is worth a full day (wish we could of stayed). Citrus, camellias, tons of orchids, hibiscus, roses, and so much more the list would fill the entire newsletter. The afternoon was another DuPont Garden and House. Winterthur is situated on large wooded and hilly area of Mr. DuPont’s farm. He became a collector of American furniture and art and kept adding to his farm house till he had filled 175 rooms and had to move to the guest house (I believe it had 65 rooms). The natural beauty of the woodland garden is quite a setting for his mansion. If you admire American antiques, this stop is for you. We spent our third day at the Flower Show. It took me about 5 hours to see it all, some took even longer. It’s setup with about 1/3 theme gardens created by different organizations, about 1/3 were displays that were either judged or were educating, and about 1/3 commercial booths. They also have seminars running constantly. Great Show! Huge Crowd! The crowd start to thin about 3:00 pm and the show stays open well into the evening. Pace yourself, go out and enjoy Philly a little, and have fun!
