Longwood Love

Pride of Madeira in display house.

I'm in love...with John of course, but also with Longwood Gardens. I was lucky enough to visit when I drove to New Jersey to help pack my daughter up, and move her back home. Yeah! for that, too. But, back to Longwood. Four acres under glass=heaven! That's where I really was for 7 hours~heaven! I took over 900 pictures ( I won't bore you with all of them...) and was literally almost the last person out the door. I could live there. I'd like to live there.
The conservatory had its annual orchid display in full swing.
Topiaries of orchids.....

Orchid topiary.

Arches of orchids.....

Arch of orchids.

Floating orchids......

Floating orchids.

Rooms full of orchids. Orchids everywhere!

A wall of orchids.

I attended a seminar in this orchid display room, given by Maria, the keeper of Longwood's 9,000 (yes, I said 9,000) orchids. They are kept in 5 greenhouses, each with its own climate. All the orchids in this room are here for display purposes, not growing purposes. They all have different needs, thus the reason for 5 different greenhouses, each with a different climate. These are happy orchids! And beautiful!

Phalaenopsis

Cymbidium

x Laeliocattleya g. 'Trick or Treat'

Phaphiopedilum g. 'Golden Slipper'

Miltonia

x Potinara g. William Farrell 'Apricot Orange'

The fern walkway is also beautiful. I love ferns and they have some fabulous ferns. I don't think I've ever seen such huge, healthy ferns. 
I especially love all the lycopodiums. Lycopodiums are actually club mosses, but grow in the same conditions as the ferns, so they coexist happily.

 

Lycopodium carinatum

The "footed" ferns look nothing like mine. Mine are babies compared to these giants hanging from the ceiling.

Vine Fern-Stenochlaena tenuifolia

Hare's Foot Fern- Plebodium aureum 'Crispum'

Up close to see the "feet".

There were also some great staghorn ferns. I didn't know there were this many different varieties. They are just monstrous and so unusual.

Platycerium superbum

 

Platycerium wandae

Close up of the center of the fern.

Fiddlehead.

 There was so much more, but I don't want to make this the longest blog post ever. I told you I took 900 pictures. The orchids and ferns are enough for now. I've barely even covered an acre at this point. There are bromeliads, roses, hibiscus, tropical rooms, and the children's area. This doesn't even cover the over 1,000 acres outside. I love this place. If you go, you'll fall in love also.