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“A little piece of heaven”
by Norman Fulkerson
The facts are staggering. Here you will find
the greatest and the most in nearly every conceivable category:
1,050 acres of gardens containing exquisite flowers and majestic
trees, twenty different outdoor gardens, twenty indoor gardens in
four acres of heated greenhouses, and a total of 11,000 different
species of plants, making this one of the greatest conservatories
in the world. In addition to the plants, there are dazzling fountains,
with variable multi-colored illumination, musical accompaniment,
and a backdrop of fireworks on selected summer evenings, a spectacle
that leaves the attendees spellbound. Then there are the over eight
hundred horticultural and performing arts events ranging from flower
shows, horticultural classes, and children’s programs to concerts,
organ recitals, and musical plays. Finally, there is the impressive
tally of over 900,000 people entering the gates each year.
Reducing this world of variety to its least
common denominator, we find that all of this is the dream of one
man, Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954). In a country where the majority
rules, one man put together a garden that has enchanted a people
for decades. Only in America!
Pierre was the great-grandson of Eleuthère
Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), a royalist who left France in 1800 and
founded the family fortune by manufacturing gunpowder. Pierre later
turned the family business into a chemical corporate empire. Using
his fortune and his leisure, Pierre developed what was to become
Longwood Gardens. The inspiration for Longwood came from his numerous
trips to Europe, where he visited some two dozen villas and fifty
chateaux. He even visited the garden of Claude Oscar Monet, hosted
by the painter himself.
He threw himself into his projects with an
unbounded energy. At 21 years of age he oversaw the construction
of the new family homestead. By the time he was 28, he possessed
his own commercial nursery with seven greenhouses. At 34, disappointed
by professional landscapers, he drafted his own plans for improving
the family’s estate. He began work on what is known today as Longwood
Gardens at the age of 36, beginning with the 600-foot long Flower
Garden Walk in 1907 and continuing to build as the “mood touched
him.” At his urging, the Longwood Foundation was established in
1946, entrusted to operate the gardens “for the sole use of the
public for purposes of exhibition, instruction, education and enjoyment.”
While visiting Longwood, I spoke with Mr.
Colvin Randall, its Public Relations Manager. One of the first things
I asked was whether any descendants of Pierre were still involved
in the foundation. “Du Ponts were involved in the beginning of this
Foundation and are still involved in the running of Longwood” he
said. “Two-thirds of the board of trustees is made up of family
members, Mr. du Pont didn’t have any children, so they are mostly
his great nephews and great nieces, and a few of them carry the
name du Pont.”
 “Do
they have horticultural experience?” I asked. “They are well known
and respected in botanical circles,” Mr. Randall replied. “They
are primarily responsible, in addition to the financial end of Longwood,
for the aesthetical questions of taste. They decide what is tasteful
and what is not. They meet once a month with the advisory committee
and the landscape committee and review design changes for the garden.
These are things like color combinations, any buildings to be built,
the details, or the architectural styles. It always goes through
these trustees’ committees.” That eye for the tasteful, which runs
in the du Pont family, is the soul of Longwood Gardens. It is something
that goes beyond mere botany and touches the sublime. It was ultimately
the fruit of a little boy’s dream. When Pierre was only nine, he
visited a mansion in Philadelphia which had a conservatory. “If
one day I ever build a greenhouse,” he said, “it will be open to
the public.” In this innocent dream, he not only yearned for beautiful
things but desired to share them with others. Much later, visiting
Florence with his wife, he marveled at the Villa Gamberaia water
garden, exclaiming: “Wouldn’t it be nice to have this in the United
States?” Eventually, a reproduction of this wonderful Italian water
garden, with several enhancements of Pierre’s own design, was added
near one of Longwood’s shaded paths, permitting visitors to share
his earlier delight. Following the direction of his dream, Mr. du
Pont continued his quest for a garden of ever-greater beauty and
quality. With the establishing of the Foundation and the continual
influence by members of the du Pont family, his dream continues.
The success of Longwood Gardens is proof of its appeal.
Attaining high ideals, the fruit of a healthy
tradition, however, has a value too few seem to realize in today’s
world. All too many people are caught up in matters that fail to
capture the imagination. Tax breaks, Wall Street trends, and Y2K
solutions are all problems that must be addressed, but they are
not the stuff from which dreams are made. What people need are ideals
to believe in, to strive for. It is part of our nature, it is what
drives us to succeed and go forward, giving that spice and zest
which life otherwise lacks. Ultimately, it is this love for the
dream that gives people the energy and enthusiasm to go the extra
mile and achieve things so great that those who lack the dream can
only sit back and wonder.
This idea is expressed very well in an advertisement
showing a man clinging to the side of a cliff, clutching at any
little crack in the rock that would allow him to go higher. The
caption is simple: “My body was not made for this, but my spirit
was.” Although the ideal dream is not based on thrills and sensations,
so common to our modern world, it does generate this effect in man.
It gives him a vitality of spirit and the necessary drive to accomplish
that which his mere natural strength would not be able to do. This
explains the attitudes of the people one meets while visiting Longwood.
One enthusiastic visitor from New York, for example, realizing that
I was visiting the gardens for the first time, exclaimed with a
gleam in her eye how she had visited many times and always found
something new to “ooh and ah about.” The joy in her eyes while expressing
her enthusiasm for the gardens was contagious. Then there were the
four ladies who walked single file into a hall adorned with hanging
globes of pink chrysanthemums. “Oh, my heavens!” each exclaimed
in turn upon entering the hall. The last lady expressed what all
three probably thought: “Did you ever see anything more beautiful
in your life?”
It is truly impossible to visit Longwood
as a passive observer. Everyone is quickly absorbed by the grandeur
of it all. Walking along the finely manicured lawns, seeing the
play of lights in the hundreds of fountains, is really a dream.
An atmosphere of joy and innocence envelops everyone, old and young,
men, women and children, all enjoying the fruits of Pierre’s labors,
the fulfillment of his dreams.
One little boy put it best when he exclaimed:
“Oh, this is just like a little piece of heaven.” This boy realized
in his innocence what few adults are ever able to grasp. He saw
exactly that which another little boy in Philadelphia was dreaming
of many years before him—a heavenly garden made for people’s enjoyment.
Finally, there was the comment someone wrote in a survey put out
by Longwood: “What would God do if He had money?” This question
begs an answer and it is very simple. God would do exactly that
which He inspires His creatures to do when they are faithful to
their dreams.
You can visit Longwood Gardens on the web
at: http://www.longwoodgardens.org
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