PHILADELPHIA – April 11, 2001 -- Thousands of azaleas, rhododendrons and old-fashioned roses will reach full bloom, traditional Victorian teas will be served by staff in period costumes, and historic lectures will be given at the nation’s oldest botanical garden this May when the Philadelphia region celebrates the "World’s Largest Garden Party." With more gardens and arboretums than any place else in the country, Philadelphia and its countryside will showcase the widest (and oldest) variety of flowers, trees, plants and wildlife through more than 100 events at 26 area gardens.

Four hotel packages make it possible to spend a weekend exploring these varied and verdant gardens, which span from Delaware to Pennsylvania and New Jersey and include sites such as Longwood Gardens, Bartram’s Garden, Morris Arboretum and Winterthur, as well as lesser known, but equally lush gardens such as Tyler Arboretum, Medford Leas and Historic Fallsington. Some of the more unique sites to enjoy during May’s "World’s Largest Garden Party" are:

• Longwood Gardens -- The most familiar of the region’s gardening attractions, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 30 miles west of Philadelphia, will get a head start on the May party with its Acres of Spring, which opens April 21 through May 25. Visitors can explore the 1,050 acres in full bloom, and partake in gardening demonstrations and special children’s events.
• Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania – The Garden Railway exhibit allows children to watch as G-scale trains travel through bridges and tunnels and wind their way past miniature recreations of historic Philadelphia sites nestled amidst an ever-changing panorama of greenery and floral splendor. There are also grottos, fountains, Japanese rockwork, rose gardens and some of the region’s oldest and largest trees on Morris Arboretum’s 92 public acres.

• Historic Bartram’s Garden -- The region’s ties to great gardens extends back to 1728 when a devout Quaker, John Bartram, acquired a 44-acre parcel of property in southwest Philadelphia, alongside the Schyukill River. Bartram’s Garden, the nation’s oldest botanical garden and an historic landmark, will mix history with gardens, for "Gustatory Fruits of Bartram’s Day," serving afternoon tea and old-fashioned varieties of apples, currants, gooseberries and other fruits that John Bartram might have enjoyed.

• Chanticleer – Though the Main Line’s most beautiful garden takes its name from the French word for "rooster," the inspiration for its lovely "rooms" comes not only from Normandy, but also from formal Italian gardens and wilder, more naturalistic English gardens. The overriding language here is purely the international one of love; this 31-acre pleasure garden drips in romance, from its cascading foxgloves to its lavish roses and lovingly placed urns, statuary and pergolas. In May, the gardens are aglow with 100,000 daffodils.
• The Camden Children’s Garden -- A four-acre gem on the banks of the New Jersey-side of the Delaware River, adjacent to (but not a part of) the New Jersey State Aquarium. Young rompers can enjoy a butterfly garden, maze, tree house, carousel and storybook gardens themed around the Three Little Pigs, Jack in the Beanstalk, The Secret Garden, Frog Prince and Alice in Wonderland. In May, the garden celebrates its first annual train festival. Five lines of G-Scale model trains wind through a miniature landscape with a 10-foot waterfall.
• Scott Arboretum – Located on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA (about a 45-minute drive southwest of the city), the entire 330-acre campus -- about half of which is woodland -- is maintained as gardens. It features 3,000 different species, and particularly fine collections of roses, lilacs, peonies and hollies. Special for 2001 is Abracadabra, a landscape sculpture of saplings.
• Wyck – A National Historic Landmark, Wyck was the home of nine generations of the same Quaker family, the Wistars and Haineses, from 1690-1973. Its gardens boast more than 30 varieties of old-fashioned roses that reach their peak in May. The colonial house and gardens give an overview to the history of the way of life in early Philadelphia.
• Medford Leas – The Lewis W. Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve at Medord Leas in Medford, NJ is hosting a series of events this May -- Victorian teas with live music, period costumes and Victorian tea-service displays, progressive gourmet picnic lunches with different courses available at various stops on its 160 acres of landscaped gardens, wildflowers and trees.
• The Japanese House and Garden – Nestled within Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park is an "official" Japanese House and Garden, given by Japan to the US in the 1950s. The house opens for its summer season in May and this year, celebrates Mother’s Day with official Japanese tea ceremonies. May 19^th is Children’s Day at the garden, complete with crafts and martial arts demonstrations.

The Gardens Collaborative serves 26 gardens, arboretums and historic houses in three states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). For more information, hotel packages and a full schedule of May events, visit www.libertynet.org/gardens.

The World’s Largest Garden Party is sponsored by a grant from the William Penn Foundation and a cultural cooperative grant provided by the Greater Philadelphia Marketing and Tourism Corporation (GPTMC).

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to generating awareness of and visitation to Philadelphia and Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call (888) GO-PHILA.

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