​Despite being over 300 miles away, Longwood Garden is known to many people in Grantham.  Often when I told fellow garden club folks that I had visited Longwood, their eyes would light up as they told me of their trips there.
 
Two of the aspects of the garden that stood out to me were the army of docents peppered throughout the property eager to point out hidden gems and interesting facts. The other was the water fountains including small, medium, and huge ones.  The fountains were the idea of Pierre de Pont, the wealthy entrepreneur who purchased the land in 1906 to prevent the arboretum on the property from falling into the hands of a greedy logging company. 
 
When Pierre was six years old, he visited the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia where he saw a huge water fountain display.  He used some of his fortune to have elaborate fountains installed at Longwood.  Visitors were drawn to the fountains on that hot summer day when I visited. Little children ran in and out of strategic locations to get optimally soaked by splashes from the fountains.  Pierre would have smiled at the sight.

Now that I've visited Longwood in late summer, I'm anxious to return in spring, and autumn, and...  

The Grantham Recreation Department runs Music in the Meadow which is a quintessential small town event. where families bring their lawn chairs and listen to talented performers. After their picnic dinners, they often are up for something sweet, and that's where the garden club comes in.
 
Each week a couple of volunteers don the GGC aprons,  load up a table with home baked goodies, and accept donations for the scholarship fund in exchange for the sweets.  They chat with the performers, the food truck folks, soccer moms and dads, couples, and lots and lots of children.
 
I love it when a tot comes to the table clutching a dollar bill and picks out the cookie of his or her choice.  The parents aren’t there (though I suspect they’re watching nearby) as the child has his or her first solo purchasing experience.  Definitely a rite of passage!
 
Five-year-old Sutton is a regular at our table and calls us the Olive Garden Ladies according to her mom Emily Rinde-Thorsen who runs Grantham Rec. Another regular, four-year-old Ludo recommended that we make enough cookies to give one to every single person in the large crowd.  He and his pal Darby had an absolute blast at the first event this year when a sudden downpour interrupted the music. They ran around the field getting as wet as they could and then figured out that could get even wetter if they stood under the edge of the GGC awning.  They ran to each side begging the tall grownups to push the awning.  In true GGC spirit, we obliged. 
 
Over these two summers, we have doled out more than a thousand cookies and brownies. Imagine the hours of time the volunteer bakers have clocked making their sweet treats. None of this could happen without them.  Last summer, Kristina Cole attended a concert and offered to bake cookies and she wasn’t even a member (then).  
 
If you haven’t had a chance to attend Music in the Meadow yet, consider coming on August 22nd or 29th.  Bring your appetite ;-)