May 10, 2018
I have always felt that gardens, carefully planned, tended, designed gardens, can be a form of art. Add to the garden an additional creative element – fountains that move water in magical ways – we can include a garden, Longwood Gardens, in this week’s Art on the Road series unhesitatingly.
(For those of you expecting yet again contrasting takes as per theme of the week, I spare you the sight of my garden – a.k.a. the Buttercup Biennale – and me the embarrassment.)
Longwood Gardens, about an hour away from Philadelphia, were originally created around 1906 by yet another man with a passion, means and openness towards philanthropy: Pierre S. du Pont. A traveler after my own heart with a keen interest in technology and a sucker for spectacle, he created not only beautiful and increasingly impressive gardens, but established a series of waterworks that are indeed spectacular, particularly in their new, just recently opened form. Attached is a short clip that explains these developments. (I had to bite my tongue when the fountain display designer talked about using both sides of the brain – that old misperception of where creativity and rationality are lodged…. but other than that I found him amusing.)
I obviously saw the daylight version, which was impressive enough. The nighttime technicolor performance is on my list for another visit, it must be a sight to behold. From the catalogue: “After a two-year, $90 million dismantling and near-total rebuilding of a fountain garden unveiled in 1931, the revived five-acre garden increases the number of fountains from 380 to 1,719 and incorporates LED lights that will bring colors unknown to the old show — along with bursts of water propelled by compressed air and flames of propane gas that flare atop columns of water. The jets sway and pirouette to music on a stage of interlaced basins, canals and circular pools. The highest reach 175 feet.”
$90 millions – I wonder how the Flint, MI water supply could be improved against lead poisoning with such numbers…..
But really, for me the garden itself was the jewel. I forget how big it is (enormous is a specific enough description, trust me), but I remember that 1600 people are working on it either as employees or volunteers. They have gone to green power, pursue new projects that include native plants and an 86 acres meadow garden that focusses on ecological design.
https://longwoodgardens.org/gardens/meadow-garden
At this point in the year the subtlety of large swaths of creeping blue phlox under the bright green new leaves were a highlight. So was the still golden color of the emerging leaves on the young copper beeches, and the already reddish version on the mature trees.
Carefully tended flower walkways (that alas included my pet peeve of combining plants that do not naturally co-ocurr in a given season, viz. snapdragons next to the tulips) alternate with stretches of park dominated by old growth trees or french design hedges.
I did not have the time or energy to explore the vast conservatories, and the day was too beautiful anyways to stay inside. It was enough to marvel at all the vision and care that went into this place from the very beginning, as well as, frankly, money. Which brought me to random thoughts on philanthropy in general – do people support causes because they want to leave foot prints? Because they have to somehow spend some of all these riches and might as well do so to applause? Do they mainly care about making the world a better place? Are yesterday’s art collections and water gardens today’s space exploration? Sort of boys and their toys? As it turns out this morning’s NYT has someone touching on the same topic:
Asking myself what current woman philanthropist I could name I only came up with Melinda Gates, and her as part of a power couple. Had to look it up – and it doesn’t look too good (in terms of wealth unchained from family relations) :
Better go and weed now, leaving my own footprint in a buttercup meadow that otherwise will take over…..
Sara Lee Silberman
Beautiful! That Garden – indeed, any garden! – is on my bucket list….