Spending New Year's Eve at Longwood Gardens

New Year’s Eve at Longwood Gardens near Kennett Square, PA was the place to be. Friends and I went out to dinner at the nearby Mendenhall Inn in Mendenhall PA and drove up the road to see the lights at Longwood.  One friend had never been there during the holidays and was amazed by the proliferation of lights in various forms. (Those are floating snowflakes over the lake on the right).

Every year brings changes in emphasis and centers of creative ideas. I didn’t remember seeing icicle like cascades of light at the entrance to the gardens, but I do remember how they used lights shaped like bunches of grapes in the past. This year it was tiny bushes with lights shaped like the catkins of a pussywillow. Outside the Pierce-DuPont house, the tree trunks were wrapped in bright colors. The fanciful trees floating on the lake, as usual, looked like skaters in hoop skirts hovering over the water (too warm for ice on the surface). A band played lively polkas outside as a tiny child scampered back and forth in front of them,  inspired by the music. Inside the conservatory, small details shined, like a spill of white orchards wrapped by icy clear ornaments, or the waterfall running under the Christmas tree outside the ballroom.  And have you ever seen a Christmas tree decorated with only white lights and red anthuriums?  Didn't think so.  Neither have I.  The theme this year was fountains, and below is a particulary creative one.     

After having walked several miles, we were tired after the outdoor and indoor events, so we took a pass on stopping in town to Kennett Square to see the mushroom drop (stainless steel) at midnight. 

Your intrepid reporter is Carolyn Roland, your older and historic homes resource in Delaware and Southern Chester County, PA.