Winterthur

On the last day of our trip, we visited Winterthur, the home of a division of the du Pont family in the Brandywine Valley of northern Delaware. The last du Pont owner of the estate had a college background in horticulture and turned the former farm into decorative gardens in the naturalistic style; no formal gardens here.

The day that we picked for our visit was fortuitous. It was 'peak' for the azaleas and rhododendron blossoms had burst into bloom in that afternoon's bright sunshine.

Sarah enjoys the blossoms in various locations @ Winterthur.
Clicking on a photo should enlarge it.

As a contrast, while Winterthur has a large garden staff (as many as 89) to maintain the grounds under the direction of a Master Horticulturist, Sarah says, "Allen, dig this plant up" and "Allen, put that plant in the hole that you just dug." I mow the lawn, too.

The Winterthur garden staff get good salaries. Sarah's gardener gets 'perks.'

Sarah enjoys the blossoms in her front garden @ home.

The three story home that you see in the photo above is misleading. It is built on a hillside. There are four stories below these on the other side of the hill.

The 176 room home displays the du Pont's collection of American decorative arts, very much like my house: old furniture.

You can't see the entire house from the inside at one time. There are separate tours for different parts of the house. You have to pay for each separately.


Also on the grounds are several galleries. One is a permanent collection displaying soup tureens.

Both of these are centuries old.




The another gallery has changing exhibits. The current one shows quilts (yawn).


Regards,

Allen & Sarah