Yours truly will be turning 42 on Monday (I know, I know, I don’t look a day over 28) and in celebration of this momentous event, my wife and children arranged for us to take the hour and a half drive to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania today.

Great idea family.

We arrived around noon and could not have asked for better weather. We purchased tickets, hit the head and were off into the boundless world of plants.

First it was the “Rose Arbor”:

 

Then the never ending “Flower Garden Walk”:

 

The “Square Fountain” garden:

 

Another fountain:

 

Back on to “Flower Garden Walk”:

 

The “Large and Small Lake”:

 

The “Italian Water Garden”:

 

After a ton of walking, crouching down, and even a bit of skipping, we arrived at the new “Meadow Garden”. Photos are not sufficient enough to describe just how majestic this garden is. Here I am trying to soak it all in and figure out our next steps:

 

Then we consulted with the kids after they scoped things out:

 

Ultimately we decided against walking the entire 86 acres (lazy kids) and banked on doing so with our next visit (ideally in the fall, sans the young ones, when I’m sure this meadow will be off the charts). As a result, the following photos are all taken from a distance:

 

Of course, we couldn’t pass up the tree houses along the way:

 

And then into the Conservatory:

 

And finally, a quick peek into the “Topiary Garden”:

When all was said and done, I cried a cry of jealousy for mature trees:

 

After our Longwood Garden tour, my wife located a fantastic restaurant – Four Dogs Tavern – and we dined al fresco with a few adult beverages.

Kind of the perfect day.