Mrs. Teabody Remembers Winterthur

Good Morning, Gentle Reader! And what a great beginning for this Tuesday - - all crisp and clear with bonfire colors edging the blueblueblue mountain range as far as the eye can see. How thrilled are you that March has arrived, Gentle Reader? Before you can say Jack-in the-pulpit, trees will start sprouting buds turning the mountains mauve and how can anyone not greet the day with enthusiasm with such promises of days to come? Certainly not Mrs. Teabody. Certainly not you, Gentle Reader.

During her college years, Mrs. Teabody had the good fortune to be introduced to the Brandywine Valley by a school chum. Through that early association, Mrs. Teabody grew to love what she calls the Brandywine Trifecta: Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine River Museum, and Winterthur. Each of these sterling places has the mission of providing enjoyment to visitors, and they do it in spades. (Small gardening pun). Chortle.

"Winterthur is set amidst a 1,000-acre preserve of rolling meadows and woodlands. Designed by Henry Francis du Pont, its 60-acre naturalistic garden is among America’s best, with magnificent specimen plantings and massed displays of color." Mrs. Teabody has made many trips to Winterthur but it was only a few short years ago she made a special effort to see and photograph the "March Bank," truly a "Bucket List" experience.


 Winterthur's March Bank is covered in  bluebells, white snowdrops and yellow winter aconite and adonis. "

Given such an opportunity, what better way to remember the experience than to plop oneself in its midst. (No flowers were harmed in the process, Mrs. Teabody assures you.) Mrs. Teabody truly wishes you could see how very blue everything was but the bright morning sun softened the hues substantially.


Mrs. Teabody plopped among the bluebells on a protective rock.


In his later years, du Pont wrote: 

"I sincerely hope that the Museum will be a continuing source of inspiration and education for all time, and that the gardens and grounds will of themselves be a country place museum where visitors may enjoy as I have, not only the flowers, trees and shrubs, but also the sunlit meadows, shady wood paths, and the peace and great calm of a country place which has been loved and taken care of for three generations." What a lovely sentiment, do you not agree, Gentle Reader?


"A 60-acre naturalistic garden" is not in Mrs. Teabody's purview, Gentle Reader, but visiting such a garden is most assuredly "a continuing source of inspiration" when she makes her garden plans each year. When one plants a copper beech or a Japanese maple, a forsythia or a flowering quince, a dozen daffodils or a trio of delphiniums, it is not solely for the enjoyment of the planter, but a hopeful gesture to give pleasure to  passers-by,  to visitors,  and to coming generations. Think about it, Gentle Reader. Move away from the computer, the distractions of television or books, and think about planting something. Getting a little dirt under one's fingernails--even well-manicured ones like those of Mrs. Teabody - - can be the start of a wonderful and rewarding relationship with Mother Nature. Step outside.

Ta for now!







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