The French Parterre Garden at "A Longwood Christmas"

We were absolutely wowed by this year's parterre garden 

exhibit at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA!

From several steps back, it appeared to be a lovely design painted on the floor.

On closer inspection, we saw that it was actually fruit 

and nuts artistically arranged and floating in water! 

So unique; I'd never seen anything like it.

In keeping with Longwood Gardens' French theme this year,

this stunning parterre was the perfect centerpiece

for the extremely popular event, "A Longwood Christmas."

The inspiration for this display came from Alice Du Pont's 1925 

visit to France with her fellow Garden Club of America members.

These are photos of her postcards showing the 

parterre gardens at a château they visited.

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"Parterre gardens" are formal arrangements of plant and flower beds 

in symmetrical patterns, often separated by hedges or stone borders.

They date back to France during the French Renaissance of the 15th century.

The custom wooden frame measures 75' x 40'.

longwoodgardens.org

By the numbers~

This magnificent display consists of 670,000 cranberries, 

8,000 Granny Smith apples, and 3,000 gilded walnuts that float in 3" of water.

The fruit is changed out through the season to keep it fresh, and then 

donated to local farms to use for compost or to feed their animals.

Wishing you a Joyeux Noël!

The Longwood Gardens website.

Visit my previous blog posts:
Dazzling Poinsettia Varieties at Longwood Gardens
A Stunning Christmas at Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, PA
An Autumn Afternoon at Longwood Gardens

Cranberries

via decascranberry

We hear lots of talk these days about antioxidants, and we know cranberries are full of them. Well, listen to this. The only place in nature where the most powerful antioxidant is found is in cranberries!

One of my most memorable vacation moments involves cranberries.  My husband and I were driving along the New England coast. Absolutely by accident, we came across a Massachusetts cranberry bog. As luck would have it, they were in the full swing of harvest! I remember how startling it was to realize that those gorgeous red swirls were actually floating cranberries! Of course this was long before the recent telltale Ocean Spray TV commercials. It was the first time I had ever heard of what the cranberry harvest entails.

I could have stayed there all day to watch.

via cranberryfestivals.com

via dujardindesign.com

via tripadvisor.com

OK, if you're intrigued, here's an interesting video to 

watch & learn more about this unique process.

Fix yourself a cup of tea, relax, and be fascinated.

Stick around for my mom's luscious Cranberry Jello Salad recipe!

My Mom's Cranberry Jello Salad

This is much nicer than opening a can and dumping it into a bowl,

but still very easy to put together.

(Although, you still may have a few die-hards for the plain stuff!)

Celery and walnuts give this the perfect crunch!

1   large pkg. raspberry jello
1   can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1   14 1/2 oz.can crushed pineapple, drained (note that this is the smaller size can)
1   cup chopped walnuts
1   cup chopped celery

Very simple. Follow directions on the box of jello.
Add other ingredients, stir well, put in 13x9 pan, chill until set.

Delicious, especially with chicken or turkey! A Thanksgiving favorite!