By:Marcia Abramson
I have enjoyed the beauties of the New York States, floral conservatories and botanical gardens. Examples are the authentic Japanese gardens with running streams, vermilion-painted bridges, pagodas, artistically placed stones and statuary in Brooklyn's botanical garden. This is replete with a celebrity walk with plaques of the borough's luminaries such as Mary Tyler Moore, Barbra Streissand, Neil Diamond and Danny Kaye. The New York Garden in the Bronx boasts of projects with scientists working in the laboratory as well as in the field to save plants that have commercial value as source of fuel, food and medicine in addition to its magnificent horticultural display. And closer to home are the Old Westbury Gardens.
But from the point of view of beauty and showmanship, Longwood Gardens near Kennett Square in the Brandywine Valley, Pa. ranks among the leaders in the country. What was once the country home and private estate of Pierre S. du Pont is now a public world of color and fragrance that links horticulture with art and drama. I wandered through formal gardens of roses peonies, vegetables topiary and swarf conifers to meadow areas, gardens of wild flowers and forested glades. Unfortunately, I could not cover the more than 300 acres which are open to visitors, or the 700 additional acres of woodlands which form a protective greenbelt.
Longwood Gardens reflects du Pont's obsession with hydraulics: Water bubbles in garden pools that are lit up at night tumble down waterfalls and shoot skyward in a kaleidoscope of multi-hued sprays projected by majestic fountains. I visited during the summer and got to see a musical and dance performance in a huge theater with water jets hurling up streams that substitute for the traditional curtain. There are also light, sound and water work shows at the five-acre fountain garden in front of the palatial conservatory and greenhouses. This garden has 380 fountainheads and recirculates 10,000 gallons of water per minute. I found the Italian Water Garden with its 18 blue Italian tile lined pools very inspiring. There is also a staircase in this garden with water sprays rushing down the steps. For an overview of the splendor of the gardens, you can ascend a tower and take in its awesome natural beauty.
I found it interesting that the du Pont family emigrated to America from France with the intention to make agriculture the family business, but ended up making their fortune in manufacturing gun powder and supplying ammunition for the many wars fought by Americans. Actually, the first du Pont, Eleuthere Irenee du Pont's immigration papers listed his occupation as botanist even though he was a printer and publisher in France.
Pierre du Pont bought the land for Longwood Gardens from the Pierce family who were Quakers. The first known owners of the area were actually Native Americans. William Penn acquired the site and then sold it to the Pierces. The story goes that du Pont bought the Pierce arboretum acreage to save the trees that were indigenous to America from being cut down for lumber. He not only saved the trees but created "a thing of beauty and a joy forever," a wonderful addition to the historic Brandywine Valley.
Tracing the history of botanical gardens, I learned that Tiberius Caesar, ruler of the Roman Empire, recognized as a despot, established one of the first royal gardens. He had a soft spot in his heart for flowers and found that communing with nature was the remedy for the tensions of emperorship. He sent his serfs to collect the most precious floral species for cultivation in his royal garden and found a way to keep his flowers from wilting and losing their soothing color by
having his gardeners build a shelter of transparent slabs to shut out the wind, control the cold, and let the sun's rays keep the potted plants alive. But Caesar restricted his garden to only high-
ranking patricians. Later in the 16th century, European medical schools developed outdoor gardens for scientific research. Then royalty cultivated decorative gardens which were closed to the public lest the unwashed, undisciplined rabble might trample the precious blossoms. It was in 1848 when the first public garden, England's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew opened for the hoi polloi.
Longwood Gardens with its wondrous mountains, plant and flower beauty, follows in the tradition of Tiberius Caesar and is a great year- round tension breaker.
Copyright by Marcia Abramson
E-mail: mascribe@aol.com
