Gardens of Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 2016 I took a late summer garden tour of Philiadelphia and nearby areas with Road Scholar tours. I was born in New Jersey and spent my early years in Pennsylvania and central New York, but I've lived 49 years since in drier places, so I reveled in the greenness and the masses of bright flowers. This post celebrates the beauty of that region.

The streets and rivers were scenic and different from Colorado.

John Drinker House, 1765

Rich greens dominated--by late summer Colorado is largely beiges and browns. And, how strange, there were big trees growing  overhead.

We got rained on all one morning:

Of course I saw lots of beautiful plants. The abundant rainfall, rich soils and moderate climate make it a terrific place for growing things. And on those plants were lots of pollinators -- I love watching bees and butterflies. I don't make enough time for it.

I cannot name the plants shown under the pollinators. There are too many garden plants I don't know. The first is in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, possibly a Centaurea, the last are two mints, Lamiaceae, but I don't recognize the species.

People were growing gloriously colored leaves:

And of course there was lots of green

The paths invited you to explore

They say that where you spend your early childhood is the climate of home. I certainly reacted that way to  Philadelphia: it all felt familiar and comfortable. And yet I love the West. Travel is the only way to reconcile those conflicting loves.


Comments and corrections welcome.

The Philadelphia gardens Road Scholar tour is still happening, in fact four are scheduled for 2019--the one I took was the first so I'm delighted it prospered. link

Blogs I wrote about particular things I saw there:

Mount Cuba Center link

Ladew Topiary Garden link

Franklinia, North America's extinct camelia link

Kathy Keeler, A Wandering Botanist

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