Living where we do, we are blessed with a number of near century old private estates that have evolved into public gardens. Each has followed its own path. Some are open with a regular schedule while others are more restricted.

Of course Longwood Gardens stands out. We also have Winterthur across the line in Delaware. Both started as private estates of the Du Pont family and are now open to visitors. Just west of Lancaster there is Conestoga House, which offers scheduled openings.

Recently my wife and I had the privilege to tour Mt. Cuba, another Du Pont garden just a bit over the Pennsylvania line in Greenville, Delaware. That's near Hockessin. This one is currently open by appointment but is evolving to further its mission statement.

That statement from the recently deceased Mrs. Lammot Du Pont Copeland reads "to inspire in visitors a joyful appreciation of the beauty of native plants and gardens made from them and to bring the public to an awareness of the complexity and fragility of our natural environment through garden display, education and research."

On our visit we caught the first wave of spring flowers including bloodroots, trillium, and bluebells to name a few. I suspect that spring for the next month is a highlight of the year, but the garden also includes a native meadow garden and 57 varieties of native asters. Those, of course, are at their best in late summer and early fall.

Also, that their research and selection process has delivered a number of native cultivars into the general market impressed me.

Perhaps the most widely known is the Aster novae-laevis 'Purple Dome'. If you don't know this one, it is a compact form of the New England aster with a double purple flower. Like most asters, it likes full sun or light shade in moist, well-drained soil.

They also have worked with our native golden rods. Remember that golden rods take the rap for what ragweed does to our noses. The pollen on golden rod is heavy and must be moved by insects. It's too heavy to become wind borne and cause us problems.

Mt. Cuba's best known golden rod introduction is Solidago sphacelata 'Golden Fleece,' It's rather short, about 18 inches, and is covered with a profusion of golden spires in late summer. Again, it likes the perfect sunny, moist well-drained spot but is quite tolerant of difficult sites.

Sometimes I wonder how many of those sunny, moist, well-drained sites actually exist in the world?

A third introduction is Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate'. This one is grown for its deep mahogany foliage. The white flowers are an addition too. This one has groundcover possibilities.

I'll quit but I was fascinated by our guide (one of their gardeners) statement that he likes to visit the hills of the Susquehanna River to see how these plants grow in the wild so he can create a better native garden. There is a lot to see and inspire the gardener.