Amid the hustle and bustle of the holidays you can find a quiet oasis at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., where an an old-fashioned garden blooms inside the conservatory. Here you can take a peaceful stroll through acres of brilliant poinsettias and fragrant Christmas flowers, attend a holiday concert, and, if you stay until dark, you will see thousands of lights twinkling down from the trees and dancing in fountains outside. The holiday display, "A Christmas Past," is on view daily -- including Christmas -- through New Year's Day.
The trappings of the old-fashioned garden include wrought-iron gazebos, rustic benches, tiered fountains, cast-iron urns and other period garden ornaments, many of which are on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. There's also a working model of the acclaimed Dorrance H. Hamilton Fernery, which recently opened to the public at the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia.
Longwood's Music Room is transformed into a Victorian parlor with period furnishings, a dining-room table covered with fancy desserts and a 15-foot Christmas tree trimmed with tussie-mussies, prisms and dried flowers.
Monday to Thursday evenings performers from Shoestring Productions of Brandywine Valley present scenes from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and from Friday to Sunday evenings the Yuletide Singers will perform carols. Every afternoon, visitors can join an organ sing-along, hourly between 1:30 and 4:30. Area choral groups perform daily at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. through Dec. 23. From Dec. 24 to Jan. 1 there will be evening organ concerts at that hour.
Admission is $10 for adults ($6 on Tuesdays); $6 for ages 16 to 20; $2 for ages 6 to 15; free for under 6. Longwood is on U.S. Route 1, three miles northeast of Kennett Square. Call (800) 737-5500 or (610) 388-1000.
Washington's holiday
"The Holidays at Mount Vernon," through Jan. 6, offers a look at Christmas in Washington's time. At Washington's home no presents are piled under the tree; in fact there's no tree at all. Simplicity was the order of the day in the 18th century. Homes were decorated with fresh greenery from the grounds, and the focus of the holidays was on hospitality, feasting and family gatherings.
Mount Vernon continues to offer hospitality. It is one of the few attractions in the country to welcome visitors every day in the year including Christmas. In the mansion's large dining room, the table is set for a winter meal. At the center of the table is a huge Christmas pie filled with turkey, goose, partridge and pigeon. It is surrounded by various meats and vegetables, pickled onions and mushrooms, sauces and rolls. A sideboard is laden with mincemeat and cranberry tarts, cheese, creams and marzipan.
After the tour, in a replica of the military tent Washington used at Valley Forge, visitors receive holiday treats from costumed hostesses You can also enjoy the hot cider and ginger cookies by a roaring fire, while a Colonial minstrel plays favorite tunes of Washington's time.
The holiday tour also includes a visit to the mansion's third floor, normally not open to the public. Martha Washington moved to a bedroom there after her husband's death. In the bedroom is the trunk she used when traveling to her husband's winter headquarters at Valley Forge.
Admission is $7 for adults; $6 for seniors; $3 for ages 6 to 11. Winter hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The estate is at the southern end of the George Washington Parkway, eight miles south of Alexandria, Va. Call (703) 780-2000.
Landis Valley Christmas
"Christmas at the Landis Valley" will be held on Tuesday at Landis Valley Museum near Lancaster, Pa. Visitors can tour the decorated buildings of the farm museum complex, including the tavern, country store and visitor center with its large Christmas tree, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., free of charge.
At 7 p.m. there will be a reading of the Christmas scriptures, followed by caroling around the bonfire accompanied by the Lititz Moravian Trombone Choir, and hot cider and cookies.
The event is held regardless of weather. Visitors are advised to wear warm clothing and bring flashlights. A donation of canned goods is requested for the Lancaster Food Bank.
The museum is 2.5 miles northeast of Lancaster on state Route 272, a marked exit off U.S. 30. Call (717) 569-0401.
House tour in Galesville
Today you can tour the tiny town of Galesville in Anne Arundel County, where the Galesville United Methodist Church is sponsoring a Holiday House Tour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Twelve private homes will be open to visitors, including "Tulip Hill," designated in 1970 as a Registered National Historic Landmark. Another home served at one time as the village blacksmith shop.
Tickets can be purchased at the church, 4825 Church Lane, where you can also find refreshments and an art show by local artists. Tickets cost $12. Galesville is at routes 468 and 255. Call (410) 867-3789 or (410) 867-1887.
'Civil War Christmas'
Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg will hold "Civil War Christmas," its holiday open house, tomorrow from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The program features holiday music, refreshments and a visit from Santa. The park historian will give a presentation on the many Christmas customs and traditions that got their start during the Civil War era, such as greeting cards, caroling, Christmas trees and Santa Claus, as we know him today. The impression of Santa as a fat, jolly old fellow who lived at the North Pole came from Civil War artist Thomas Nast. Admission is free.
Antietam Battlefield is on Route 65, north of Sharpsburg. Call (301) 432-5124.