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Reading Corner :: Longwood Gardens - A Must Stop On Your Philadelphia

Welcome to the Brandywine Valley. This region offers
plenty of opportunities for you to enjoy your vacation
here, especially during the Spring, Summer, and Fall
seasons. It is home to a wonderful assortment of
world-class museums and gardens.

A sample stop on your itinerary should include a visit to
Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine River Museum. Both are
within ten minutes of each other. You could easily spend
anywhere from 4 hours to a whole day just exploring these
two places. Longwood Gardens is located in the historic
Brandywine Valley of southeastern Pennsylvania (PA) and
northern Delaware (DE).

Pierre S. du Pont developed Longwood Gardens (sometimes
called the DuPont Gardens) back in 1906. Today, with the
hundreds of employees and volunteers keeping Longwood
beautiful, it's a delight. Over 1,000 acres of indoor
and outdoor gardens with over 11,000 different varieties
of plants, breathtaking fountains, and lots of events
will captivate you. Longwood is so popular that it
attracts over 900,000 visitors annually from all over
the world. There's everything from kid's programs to
concerts and gardening demos. Their world-renowned
fireworks displays will make you cheer and clap with
delight.

Longwood has more fountains than any other garden in the
United States. Their fountains have been compared to
the water displays in Europe. This should come as no
surprise since Pierre du Pont was wildly enthusiastic
about water and fountins. He developed three different
fountain gardens and included an arrangement of smaller
water features. Some of these fountains have been either
refurbished and/or expanded on to improve on his original
designs. The staff must be doing something right because
more and more people come to see these historic fountain
annually.

Of course you can't mention DuPont without mentioning gun
powder and fireworks in the same sentence. The DuPonts
have been involved in manufacturing gunpowder for close to
two centuries. Pierre's interest in both pyrotechnics and
fountains has exploded (pardon the pun) into one of the
best displays of fireworks and water combined, bar
none. Because of the complexity and time involved in
setting up a fireworks show, they are limited to 3 to 4
shows each summer. You definitely want to make one of the
firewoks shows.

High tech has also been added successfully to the mix of
fountains and fireworks. Computer technology has brought
the fountain shows into the 21st century in a big way.
Because Pierre du Pont was always looking to improve
Longwood, it's easy to imagine him being thrilled knowing
that his gardens still continue to dazzle visitors.

While you are in the area, you will also want to visit the
Brandywine River Museum. The Brandywine River Museum is
located in a Civil-War era grist mill thats been converted
to a museum. This Museum is famously known for its
collection of Wyeth family paintings. It's hard to believe
that in this country-like setting is one of the largest
and most comprehensive Wyeth collections worldwide.

The Museum changes its exhibits often. Many of the
paintings and other artwork are centered on the Brandywine
Valley area, as well as other areas of this region. It's
quite an experience to be looking at a painting and being
able to pinpoint the location.

There are also many special events during the year
both indoor and outdoor, such as concerts, slide shows,
crafts fairs. With all the presentations, you'll be
ready to eat sooner than later and there are Award winning
restaurants both at Longwood and The Brandywine Museum. If
you are looking for something else, there are plenty
of national chain establishments and fast food and
everything in between, all within a 10 minute drive.

With the authenticity of these amazing gardens, you~ll
discover something that will make your visit a lasting
memory, no matter what your interests are. Because of the
spectacular beauty of the open landscapes and the
fascinating historical presence of the area, people come
for multiple visits.
Emily Strandford has created a one stop resource site for airfare called Best Airfare .

Written by: Emily Strandford

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