The Nose Knows

I learned quite a few things on a recent trip to Longwood Gardens. Their exhibit Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance is a treat for your nose...as well as your eyes.

You learn that infants can recognize their mother’s scent even before they are born. How they determine this beats me, but I’m impressed just the same.

I had always heard that scent is one of the strongest triggers for memories. Who doesn’t remember that first day of school and the scent of a newly opened book, Grandma’s house and the smell onions sautéed in butter, or the smell of fresh-mowed grass when you ran outside to play after school. These smells are anchored to powerful childhood memories.

So follow your nose as it makes its way past the jasmine in the conservatory, the lilacs just above the topiary garden, or the scents that you can create in the Music Room. Pay special attention to the giant perfume bottles placed throughout Longwood.

And, oh yes, there are at least 56,000 tulips to see as well.

Along with other flowers.

Mom - the orchids are for you!

This plant (Colleen, if you are reading this, please tell us the name!) was wonderfully fragrant -

especially if you stuck your nose underneath!

As my friend says, everything is bigger at Longwood.

My favorite sign of the day? I’m not dead, I’m dormant.

Longwood Gardens is just an hour from The Artist's Inn, and our guests have enjoyed the many seasons (and smells) of this special place. Now is the perfect time to create new memories that you (and your nose) will remember.

Spring in Lancaster County

Spring came in a hurry this year to The Artist's Inn - it seemed to last one week and now feels like summer.

I like to think of spring as a symphony - with various flowers awakening in the spring almost as though they were instruments tuning up - first you hear from the quiet little crocuses, then the tulips and hyacinths, and by the time you get to the bushes and flowering trees you have a full orchestra blasting out Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue!

So sit back and enjoy while I take you on a tour of my gardens....

If anyone knows the name of this flower, please post - it returns every year.

Here's some of the bloomers at The Olde Stone Cottage:

A lot of my flowers were gifts - some from people who are no longer here. They are a wonderful reminder of friends. I hope you enjoyed the time with my flowers as much as I do.

A Trip Around the World at The Philadelphia Flower Show

A trip to this prestigious show comes but once a year...and, living in Lancaster County, that means it is easily “doable”, and a very special outing. So when my friend Ruth said that she had room in their van for me, I jumped at the chance.

We arrived just before noon and opted to have lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, across the street from the Convention Center. I love this market, and quickly found the herb dealer who carries ground bay leaves (in my opinion, they are so much easier to use than trying to dig out that bay leaf hidden deep in the chili or stew). The market is not the place for people who can’t make up their minds – and while all the flavors tempted me, in the end I caved in to the pressure of the Philly Cheesesteak. (When in Rome....)

Nourished and ready to travel the world, we opened the door to the convention center. It was though we opened the door to Spring. This huge space, with many different heating zones and vents, was no match for those tiny little flower petals. It proved that strength comes in numbers because I smelled those hyacinths immediately. Then my feet never hit the floor as the smell of the roses and other flowers propelled you through the hall....so let me show you what I saw.

This balloon stood high above everything in the hall and was made of 80,000 dried flowers - it took a week to attached the flowers, and over 1,000 volunteer hours.
This is no small bouquet - it had a twin that greeted you when you entered - they were probably 15 feet tall.
What a great idea for an urban garden. The Landscape and floral displays are chock-full of terrific ideas.
If you look close, you'll see the orchids survining in an all-white winter display.

Spring was everywhere -from the large displays to the tiniest minitature daffodils.

This guy stood above our heads in the South African display.

I will hopefully be able to find these for my garden - Anemones are among my favorite flowers.

Can you tell that this represents the ocean, sand and dune? When you see it in person the lines that are supporting the flower vessels almost disappear....

One of my favorite displays, using paint cans. Be sure to look closely at the colors - very clever.

I spotted these cute little napkins rings for Ruth. She owns Flowers & Thyme B&B - we thought they'd be perfect for her breakfasts.

Pink flamingos wander through the explorer's garden.

We then traveled to India.

Here's a glimpse into the many educational and individual displays - Mom, this picture of the orchid displays is for you!

Then came shopping at the Marketplace...Aren't these calla lilies beautiful?

There were all kinds of wonderful things to buy - from planters and wreaths to brass door knockers and jewelry.

If I didn't have to carry them three blocks to the car, I would have come home with one of the bunny sculptures.

And who could resist a dozen roses for $4.95....in a dozen different colors...

This window was really fun lampshades made out of flowers!

On our way out of the main hall, we got to witness the majestic flying of Sun Conures and Parrots, compliments of the Philadelphia Zoo as they flew high above the Rainforest exhibit.

We finished at 4 – but there is plenty to do for two days if you take in any of the lectures and demonstrations.

We decided to have dinner in Philly before venturing out into rush-hour traffic. A short walk led to Maggiano’s - a bustling Italian restaurant serving huge portions of good food. I highly recommend the Chicken & Truffle Tortellacci with White Wine Cream Sauce, Smoked Ham & Asiago Cheese – a half portion was all I could handle.

The mini-dessert of crème brulee was just enough – here it is next to the ice cream that Don ordered.....enough for three people!

I hope you enjoyed this little journey. If you can, I highly recommend going to the Philadelphia Flower Show - but hurry - the last day is Sunday, March 7.