An old library book, Gardens of Philadelphia, made me aware of Highlands Mansion, and…read morecoincidentally friends wanted to have a play date at Kids Castle, so on our way home we checked out Highlands. The mansion is apparently under restoration so I did not tour it, but I did see the gardens. While these gardens are nothing compared to the scale of the Brandywine DuPont estates, they are impressive for a former private residence. The most remarkable thing about them, to me, is their use of dramatic tall freestanding walls. Designers seem to agree that the best tool for success in landscaping is creating outdoor "rooms" or dedicated areas with hedged/fenced/walled/etc. boundaries to delineate and discern one outdoor space from another. I've toured many gardens domestic and abroad and I've never seen such a liberal use of wall structures that were apparently built solely for ornamental landscaping purposes (as opposed to ruins or retaining walls). Yes, you see decorative walls employed at Longwood and Chanticleer, but none so gigantic as these. Highlands was working with flat plain meadow and the goal seemed to be to create multiple garden-framed large lawn spaces, free of tree debris or too much shade to affect the grass. The walls are designed to tower as high as ornamental trees, but without the maintenance, root issues, leaf drop, etc. and they green-ify these walls with ivy trained all over them. Voila, vertical garden, architectural interest, height, and allowance for terrain diversification. I grew up adjacent to the trove of magnificent DuPont estates in the Brandywine Valley. I'm now fortunate to live 2 1/2 mi from Chanticleer and 7 1/2mi from Tyler Arboretum (Jenkins is closer but it doesn't appeal to me). I would recommend the destinations closer to me for full day visits, while Highlands gardens would only take a half hour for the formal area, and more if you choose to hike a trail or tour the manse. Still, it may be a half-day visit at most. While not a day trip destination on its own, it is a worthy stop if in the area, and I do recommend it to anyone interested in garden design who's already toured the others I mentioned. This is also an event venue, and the formal space is certainly made for such use, so it's lovely people can enjoy the space as it was intended when conceived.

While the mansion is still undergoing renovations so we were not able to include that and so my…read morereview may change in the future. Don't expect to take even a full afternoon visiting but it is a lovely preserved estate around the city. There's some goats, and the grounds are enjoyable to take an hour or so to walk with nice historical signs for context. There is some parking but it likely gets packed in high traffic times. I can't put it in my top gardens available for Philadelphia, it's good to have treasures like these to keep the sense of history and love of horticulture the area has long held.

Good visit with a friend who is a regular. The paths are coated with a recycled rubber mix and are…read moresoft to walk on. Wide variety of well-labeled plants. Apparently, Stoneleigh welcomes local humanities professors holding classes on the grounds

What a lovely garden that is free to the public! I was too busy admiring it with my family to take…read morepictures. The ambassadors at the front were so helpful knowing it was our first time visiting, and we also met some staff to thank them for maintaining it so well. I'd love to come back for a formal tour in the future and see the mansion. We'll be back!

Beautiful grounds surround Moland House ~ an absolutely amazing place with its incredibly rich…read morehistory. Annual reenactments representing events which took place in 1700's happen here and the house is open on certain days for tours. Washington, Hamilton, Lafayette to name just a few were part of the encampment at Moland House. The guides are wonderful with interesting stories of the family and they are quick to answer any questions. The guides explain how ice cream was made and show the many kitchen utensils used way back then ~ the house furnishings are time period correct. Moland House is a jewel of a place with many passionate, caring people who take such loving pride in showcasing this site with such abundant history.

Amazing property, it is a hidden gem. Went with my family for the tour and everyone enjoyed it!read more

Purchasing tickets online and the sign in at the welcome center was easy. our guide was Kieran and…read morehe did an excellent job of telling the story of the Henry Mercer and the castle. The one hour tour was fascinating and entertaining. The castle was so unique with the amazing ceilings of tiles and artifacts from all over the world and a myriad of rooms and doors that one could easily get lost in. I'm so glad we made the time to come here. We want to return to walk the trails on the property as we ran out of time.

This place is a gem. It's beautiful, serene, somewhat whimsical. We went last week and the fall…read morecolors were stunning. It's a place I think I'll go back to with every season. And next time I wanna go early enough that I can do the house tour as well.

The garden is very well done and a lot of attention to detail. There are a LOT of chairs set up…read morein strategic places to sit and rest. They are actually part of the decoration to me. Parking is limited and reservations are required as far as I know but it worth the trip.

The Willisbrook Preserve is a large serpentine barren in the middle of Malvern housing…read moredevelopments. From what I've read about serpentine barrens, there is bedrock close to the ground's surface, with only a shallow layer of soil on top. This prevents growth of deep rooted vegetation, and typically causes some desert-like conditions. There was also information about Native Americans setting controlled burns of expanses of land in the Mid-Atlantic region, to create hunting grounds, and this too, helped caused the desert-like serpentine barren conditions. I am not an expert, so that's my summary from my tired mom brain, of what I read a couple years ago. But the gist was interesting to me, and I made a trip down to some serpentine barrens in the very south portion of PA to see them. It wasn't what I expected, and little did I know that this barren was minutes from my home! I was able to identify the geology and vegetation described in my research a lot better at Willisbrook, than I could at the other preserve. While not all of this preserve is representative of "PA desert," it was really neat to find the parts that are. I have one photo that gives a close up of the ground, where you can hopefully see what I mean. Ironically, much of the terrain held standing water (opposite of desert), and there was a significant amount of mud on the trails. It was miserable trying to walk it with a small child, and for those who don't want muddy dogs in their car, either don't bring them, or bring towels! All in all, this is a really neat place, but not fun if it's recently rained. Also, there were dogs off leash, which was super annoying, and their families were less than accountable for breaking Natural Lands rules. As I've mentioned in other NL reviews, I know this is a concern they are addressing, and it's not NL's fault. But it's annoying to those of us who love visiting, and DO follow rules. As with all NL preserves, this place is pristine clean, no litter anywhere, and free!

Beautiful location for a hike and all of the preserves in the area are absolutely gorgeous but I…read morereally like this one because the paths are always pretty clear.

I take my 2 y. o. granddaughter nearly every week. There are so many wonderful things to explore…read moreand learn from. They have a walking path through the woods with a natural playground and sandbox, a bird house building to watch and interactive displays, a mini zoo inside a house with small animals and activities including a treehouse. They also have weekly activities and seasonal events for elementary school kids. My granddaughter calls Briar Bush "The Animal House" and loves to put a donation in the collection box before we leave.

I wish I could rate this more than 5 stars! A nature center/museum and I don't have to do the…read moredrive downtown/pay for parking...and admission is free for Abington residents/friends of Briar Bush? Amazing. (Admission otherwise is only $3 for adults and $2 for kids 2-17). There's animals/insects inside such as owls, huge cockroaches, giant turtle, snakes. And a cute reading corner full of nature books. There's also a discovery den AKA play area indoors for $1. There's animals/insects outdoors such as turkey vultures, turtles, a butterfly house and a bird observatory (cute on the inside with toys for the kiddos - be sure to read the story about the couple who opened the center). And a natural playscape outdoors. There's also a bunch of fairy houses throughout the property that girl scouts donated. And lots of trails through the forest. They also have Magic Mornings for ages 2-4 Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays - but register ahead as they only have a certain amount of spots each day (it's seasonal - they have in fall and spring but not summer - see website). It's an hour class for $10 and includes a snack, craft, nature walk etc. They usually pull out an animal each class. It's great to get some time in nature with other kids. In summer, they have a full week of Magic Mornings in their Itty Bitty Briar Camp. Ms. Heidi teaches it and she is just great. They have a different theme every day such as sun, water, clouds etc and there's an activity each day (visit pond and catch tadpoles, water play, craft pertaining to theme). They have preschool pioneers for ages 4-5 and summer camp for older kids for a week in late June. *Just beware in June that parking is limited due to school field trips and you may not fit in either of the lots; you may have to park out front of the house to the left (which is fine - she just doesn't want buses idling there) They also have field trips to gardens and to the shore, classes for seniors, family nature nights, hot smores nights... Only negative (besides parking, which they can't really control), is the "snacks" for kids at Magic Mornings aren't the healthiest. One was cinnamon sugar graham crackers with whipped cream- regular would have been fine. 2 days were cheddar gold fish. Another day was blue jello with whipped cream. And some red licorice - the kind that whips. Fruit Loops were used for colors. So, if you don't like your child eating sugar, let them know you have a dietary restriction or bring your own snack (snack time is ~10 min and probably not needed but the kids always love snack time!). Some options that would be healthier and just as easy would be pretzel sticks, fruit, crackers, popcorn, veggies, string cheese...but I guess those all cost more besides pretzels/crackers/popcorn.

I came up here on a very humid and hazy day. The visibility was a little low, but we could still…read moresee pretty far out. The steps were steep, but not too terrible. At the top of the tower the staircase gets even more windy and narrow. I do feel as though $7 was on the higher end to just climb the stairs and come down. Though, if I had the chance I would come back in the fall, as I imagine the view is spectacular during that season.

I've been here during the summer and during the Fall, it's always a beautiful view! I haven't been…read moreback in a while but both times the elevator was broken. (And even when it is working there's still steep steps to walk up just fyi). You can buy tickets there and they do a combo with the wildflower preserve too. It's a pretty drive up there as well. Definitely recommend.