by Nicole Loughan
In just over an hour you can be transported to a peaceful garden, overflowing with perfect flowers and majestic fountains at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square Pennsylvania. If you make this trek with children you will get an extra hour of tranquility as even a brief visit holds enough excitement to tire out almost all children.
There is enough beauty and culture at Longwood Gardens to interest adults, with enough whimsy to keep the children entertained.
Some of the best parts of my visit to the garden was the myriad of offerings meant to make visiting with children easier. There is stroller access throughout the gardens and several bathrooms and shady spots to catch a rest. The list below is some of the kid friendly options at Longwood that we enjoyed the most.
Kid Friendly Food – The café offers a kids meal with a hot dog, macaroni and juice or milk was reasonably priced, around the same as a fast-food kids meal. Though my kids hit me up for a $4.00 decorative flower cookie. If I hadn’t succumbed to the temptation of the really awesome looking cookie the bill would have been about the same as an afternoon at Wendy’s.
The indoor children’s garden – Located inside the conservatory this area has more than 30 fountains that kids are liberally encouraged to play in (and my children did, bring a change of clothes). There is also secret room, dragons, a maze and a ton of fun nooks and crannies.
The Treehouses – there are three treehouses tucked away on the grounds, each separated by a decent walk so finding each one will get both and parents a workout. On that note, make sure everybody is wearing comfortable shoes, preferably closed toed sandals or tennis shoes.
The Beehive – The outdoor Children’s Corner has a bee theme complete with bee info and a throne for your queen bee to sit on. The kids absolutely loved playing in the giant flower fountain (don’t change out of those wet clothes until you go to this area). There is much needed seating around the fountain where parents can take a well-deserved load off while children run through the honeycomb style maze and play in the water.
The fountains – the smaller fountains are up and running. There is a nice seating area above the fountains to enjoy the falls and on the other side there is a pond. We chose this a spot to sit and eat snacks while we watched the water. It was also nicely shaded in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the larger fountains are out of commission until the spring of 2017. Until then there is plenty of other fun to enjoy.
General admission to the park is $20 for adults, seniors are $17 and children 4 and under are free. Longwood Gardens is located in Kennett Square PA. In the event that you get a chance to visit without the children there is a Chaddsford Winery located just outside the park at 632 Baltimore Pike, along the main road. Both Chaddsford and Longwood frequently post discount opportunities on Groupon, so check before you go.
Photos provided by Longwood Gardens
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