Longwood Gardens Part 1

2:00:00 PM

"I must confess, the view from where I sit has been rather grey."

It's getting to that point of the year when I start to lose hope. When all the trees and green things start to seem like they'll never come back to life. When the sun starts to lose its color, and no amount of warm blanket seems to be enough to hold me over for the night. It's at this time that I look back, back to warm memories and happier times.

Someone pointed out to me this weekend, a final quote by the late Leonard Nimoy.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."

Longwood Gardens is, to me, a symbol of hope. I had been to Longwood once when I was very young, I'd gone with my family and my grandparents who had come from Taiwan to visit. It was a true perfect moment filled with wonder and amazement. Now, at a time in my life where I lose hope, there, it is restored. It is in itself, a beacon, a frame for the beauty of nature. We visited Longwood in mid-February and it snowed that same morning. But inside the conservatory at Longwood, I saw life like I'd never seen it before.

Below: The Garden Path (Can you spot the photographer?)

Basically, If I had a garden, it would be a dream if it turned out anything like this.

There was an amazing fragrance that I could swear was coming from this garden, but I'll never know for sure.

Below: The Reflecting Pool. The courtyard is filled with just enough water so that it creates a level sheen across the marble flooring so that it reflects the hanging plants above and allows the ferns a healthy amount of water to grow.

Above: is probably one of my favorite views in the garden, the archways frame the water almost like it's a threshold to a pathway that you could walk down. It almost makes you want to step down onto the water and walk down to the end of the path.

And that, is James (above and below)... my travel buddy for the day and resident goofball. S/o to James not that he reads this, I don't think he really believed I was going to put him in here.

Above: Bathrooms to be noted. We were so intrigued by the green wall we didn't notice that this hallway was really just a long line of family bathrooms. We walked until we bumped into a janitor cleaning out one of the rooms, we sheepishly waved and walked back the way we came from.

Above: Main Atrium, Below: Children's Garden

Above and Below: Flower Maze
The little flower fountain below is positioned under a bell and every so often, once the flower has collected enough water, it shoots up a jet of water that hits and rings the bell.