Wanderlust Wednesday: Winterthur Picnic

Okay let’s be really truly honest for a second. I’ve always wanted to do an adult fairy princess picnic. Why?

1. Now I actually know how to do makeup
2. I have so many fun cosplay outfit pieces
3. We can drink as adults
4. I have always wanted to be fae (who hasn’t?)
5. Why not?

So naturally when my friend Sam asked if we wanted to do a girl’s day and dress up and take fun photos I jumped on the idea, and I asked her and Tasha if they would want to do a fairy picnic and they loved the sound of it and the plan was born. Go all the way to the bottom for a packing list!

Sam is a native Delawarean, so she gave us a few places to look into, but we settled on Winterthur Garden, Museum, & Library. Partially because of how close it was to Sam’s place, but also because of the Enchanted Garden.

The tour guide told us that the enchanted woods have come to be as they are due to the fact that the faeries and sprites who live in the garden missed the laughter of the two du Pont girls who used to play there. To convince more children to com join them among in the garden they built a magical grove for all to play in.

And of course who would I be if I didn’t give you a bit of background on the estate itself? Winterthur belonged to the du Pont family, but it’s gardens became renown due to Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969) who improved the gardens, created March Bank, which is the first part of the garden which was designed with a naturalist priority. With 1,000 acres of protected meadows, woodlands, ponds, and waterways, the garden itself is around 60 acres of plantings, and year round flowerings.

The House is 175 rooms of what is now considered the premier museum of American Decorative Arts, du Pont collected over 90,000 pieces of historic American art, furniture, and knick-knacks. The museum opened in 1951, and in 1961 du Pont oversaw the restoration of the Kennedy White House.

One of the things I appreciated I believe the website phrases best:

“Winterthur Museum, Gardens & Library acknowledges and honors the Lenape who inhabited the lands of Winterthur and what is today northern Delaware and Pennsylvania prior to European contact. Lenape lifeways in Delaware once included activities along large drainage ways of the Delaware River and the Brandywine; smaller bodies of water, such as Clenny Run on the Winterthur property, were likely to have been grounds for hunting, fishing and gathering activities. May we remember the meaning and sacredness of this land for the Lenape who once made it their home and for the value it holds for all of us today” (Winterthur.org/about, 2021).

Now what everyone needs! A packing list so you don’t forget what to take on your fairy picnic packing list.