Photo of the Day: Water Magic

Three weeks ago, on my visit to Longwood Gardens in the Brandywine Valley, I heard a blast of joyous music at 3 pm. I hurried to the source of the sound, the open-air theater in that onetime du Pont country estate.

The music was “Stars and Stripes Forever,” except that, instead of the spectacular fireworks associated with that Fourth of July perennial, visitors here were treated to an equally dazzling water display.

A little later that afternoon, I learned, from an exhibit at the Peirce-du Pont House on the grounds, why that particular piece of music was so appropriate. The composer of that patriotic march, John Philip Sousa, was a friend of Longwood owner Pierre du Pont, and an occasional visitor to these majestic surroundings.

Photo of the Day: Wowed by Water Lilies

I took this shot of gigantic water lily pads while visiting, more than a week ago, in Longwood Gardens, the estate owned by Pierre du Pont in Kennett Square, Penn.

Photo of the Day: Cool Chenille

The last several days have brought everywhere I look—in print, on Facebook, and elsewhere on the Internet—a torrent of images of the destruction wreaked by Nature. I offer this photo, which I took last week while on vacation in the Brandywine Valley, as a sort of visual balm for those left hurting by Hurricane Sandy. I snapped this shot of a Chenille plant, a flowering shrub originally from Oceania, at the conservatory in Longwood Gardens, once the estate of Pierre du Pont, now an eye-popping, heart-lifting horticultural showcase, in Kennett Square, Penn. If you haven’t seen this yet, I hope you do so—and soon.