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Published: August 3rd 2008
Today I got the chance to visit a place vividly etched in my childhood memories: Longwood Gardens. So many times I have heard stories about this place, and remember specific pieces of it...like the children’s gardens bubble fountains and the "humid house" I despised. Today I went back to Longwood Gardens with my aunt and uncle, but this time I was not being pushed in a stroller urging my aunt to push me faster down the hill.
It was a beautiful sunny day with just the right amount of breeze so that we would not be dying in the sun. The perfect summer day. It was wonderful to explore the gardens again. The children’s garden (still the highlight I have to admit) was recently re-done, and is full of fountains that you can stick your hands in. The walkways though the garden are accented with animal sculptures and brightly colored tile mosaics. They did a great job fixing it up. Another highlight was the water lily garden. These are pools filled with still dyed black water covered in every type of water lily you could imagine...even the massive ones that grow to 8 feet across! From there we walked into
Children's Garden
I can still play in this right? the beautiful plant conservatory, filled with room after room of perfectly kept botanical wonders. We were there early enough that we had the place almost to ourselves. On the far side of the conservatory, there was a ballroom with huge French doors open to the gardens. Wonder if I could find a ball to go to there...
The awful memory of the "humid house" (read: orchid room) came back when we walked into a tall room filled with hundreds of orchids all in full bloom. The smell was exactly how I remember it from so many years ago...damp, alive, but still not that pleasant. I love the smell of dirt, but this does not smell so great. At least I was able to appreciate the flowers this time!
After passing the main fountain garden we walked through the topiary gardens. A group of young Asian tourists came up to us and we finally made sense out of the conversation that this guy wanted a picture of him and my aunt...dancing! It was great! It reminded me of being in China and people asking to have their picture taken with us!
It was a beautiful day, at a
Children's Garden
Even grown up kids like to play in the water beautiful gardens. Finished with traditional lemonade in the car. I remembered the parking lot really well too. It is strange what our childhood memories consist of!
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