January 27, 2018, to Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA

We’ll try to chase away the winter blahs with a field trip to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, on January 27. While the Garden’s four-acre conservatory offers a vast assortment of plants  and flowers, the annual “Orchid Extravaganza” begins the weekend before, so those flowers should be in full bloom.

Longwood Gardens and its conservatory have a long history with orchids. Orchids had space allotted to them when the DuPont family began to conservatory in 1919, and the collection today shows a dazzling range of colors, varieties, and arrangements. As their website tells the story, “From a towering 12-foot-tall archway made of Phalaenopsis orchids to giant orbs hanging from above, our iconic orchid curtain, and more than 200 Vanda hanging in our Silver Garden, beauty awaits at every turn.”

Tripods and monopods are allowed inside the conservatory from 9:00 to noon. A change from prior trips is that tripod permits are no longer required. Admission is $23 per adult, $20 for seniors (62 and older); tickets can be purchased in advance at https://tickets.longwoodgardens.org/ItemList.aspx.

The gardens open at 9:00. Kennett Square is 2.5 hours from the fire station, and we’ll have signup sheets at the NVPS meeting in January so carpooling will be possible. There are a number of hotels in Kennett Square if you’d prefer not to drive that morning. We’ll plan lunch at the Longwood Garden’s café (cafeteria-style).