Winterthur Museum & Country Estate
 

My husband & I live in the Brandywine Valley & are mystified by the apparent preference for Longwood over Winterthur. BOTH are so lovely, & they are so different - it's important to understand the differences among them.

Longwood is a du Pont garden based in perennials & annuals, in a mostly formal setting. An exception to the formal gardens is the meadow that lies far to the (I'm guessing!) NE of the main garden which is heavily planted with annuals. The conservatory is of interest year round. The house is of minimal interest, but does give interesting history of the Pierre S du Pont side of the family & the history of the DuPont Company.

Winterthur, on the other hand, operates on two distinct levels. The perennial gardens are most interesting from early March to late May, when acres of bulbs begin white & yellow in early March & give way to a blanket of blue mid-month that extends for acres. In April Virginia Bluebells share the garden with phlox, & ultimately yield to a crescendo of azaleas that are virtually without equal. Late summer & autumn provides an entirely different view of this incredible 1000 acre landscape, & winter brings the Christmas or Yuletide tour --- when the Museum is decorated for the holiday season.

Leave the landscape to enter Henry Francis du Pont's home which he donated to become a museum in 1951- to view the world's finest collection of American decorative arts.

The ticket price includes the garden tram, admission to the museum & galleries with an introductory tour of the museum.

We were in the area for a wedding and visited Winterthur (museum) last year and found it so impressive. What an amazing collection.

I'm so glad you liked Winterthur - spread the word!

I agree! My whole family loves the wild and amazing Winterthur garden. I have continuously worked to recreate the March bank and azalea woods at my home.

Plus, the Enchanted Woods is the most kid-friendly children's garden anywhere. Unlike the children's garden at Longwood, the Enchanted Woods is outside, in the fresh air, and definitely designed for children to play and explore. Add the various activities offered every day for children at Winterthur - craft projects or story time in the outdoors - and you have an easy outing for children and their parents that sneaks in a bit of education.

Every Christmas our family takes the Yuletide tour, and we all look forward to holiday concerts and other festive activities.

The Winterthur house is amazing inside. It contains more American antiques than any other place on earth, but also, it is just plain gorgeous. Paul Revere made those 6 silver tankards!!!

Who knew? Winterthur is the best kept secret in America - but now you know too.

Winterthur is a national treasure. I've also visited both Longwood but my heart was stole by Winterthur and the marvelous guide we experienced. The retail boutique is great too. Thanks for sharing!

My mother and I are coming to visit from out of state, specifically to see the Winterthur house and gardens. Where should we stay?

My mom and I visited in 2007 and stayed at the Fairville Inn. The location was very good, and we enjoyed the breakfasts. Also, it can be tricky to find a b&b with twin beds (and for me and my mother this was a must). I believe ownership may have changed since then, but it was definitely a good location.

We were in the area for just a couple of days and went to Winterthur, Longwood Gardens and the Brandywine museum. Winterthur was the big draw for us, its a fascinating place. Unfortunately, it was absolutely pouring so we didn't get to enjoy the grounds that much.

If you're interested in my trip report, its on another site, here:
http://europetogo.yuku.com/forum/viewtopic/id/524

Thank you so much! I'll look into it.

If I skipped this fact, sorry, but the furnishings are not only American-made but not factory-produced. Not many museums can make that claim, eh?

The duPont who owned Winterthur designed the gardens so that something was blooming all year long. In a book, I read that he wrote his job was "gardener" when filling in a form for his Harvard reunion!

Several wonderful du Pont homes in the area.

Grand old dame is the duPont Hotel in Wilimington.

Thank you for posting this. I've been receiving the Winterthur catalogue for years and have always wanted to visit there. Now I definitely will, and will explore the surrounding area as well.

I also live in the Brandywine Valley and my family, including teenage boys, and I have visited Winterthur numerous times, thoroughly enjoying our visit each and every time! There is so much to see and appreciate whether it is a Yuletide Tour, Spring Garden Tour, Period Furniture or Lifestyle Tour, or a special event hosted on location. The wonderful tour guides make the collections come to life as you take a step back in time. Mr. DuPont's dream of a grand collection of authentic American decorative art has become a reality for all to enjoy! The attention to detail, authenticity, and scope of the museum pieces is amazing to behold. The gardens are lovely and peaceful too, and they round out the entire Winterthur experience. I assure you it is well worth visiting.... again and again!

Shedridt,
We will be coming up to Winterthur in the spring for one and a half or two and a half days. It's less than a four hour drive from our town in Virginia. Would you suggest mid April or mid May for the best display of the gardens?

We've already been to Longwood.

ronkala, maybe the yearly bloom calendar will help you with your decision--
http://www.winterthur.org/?p=657

It seems that, typically, May would be best for dogwood, azalea, and rhododendron.

kmbp,
Thankyou, that is exactly what I was looking for

Don't know your schedule, ronkala, but "Nemours" is another nice duPont home. You need to make advance reservations.

Again, Hotel duPont is a wonderful place to stay. Also has a theatre with first-rate performances.

This is a lovely place close by and has a very nice restaurant too. http://montchanin.com/

We'll add Nemours as a must see also. That doesn't open until 1 May so we will go up in May.

We've just decided to include Olde New Castle also.

Hagley (or is it Hegley??) is the first dP house and has some fascinating exhibits about the production of gunpowder. A fat book about the duPonts didn't make it when we scaled down but their story is fascinating also. Remember the matriarch moving people into smaller homes if they displeased her!

Old New Castle is neat also!

Have a wonderful time! Trip report, please?

It's Hagley and we were there several years ago when we made the Longwood trip. A trip eport is doubtful as I am a hunt and peck typist and it would take forever. That's why I haven't reported on any of our trips the last ten years.