A day for all that is outside Philadelphia

Because there's so much to do indoors in Philadelphia -- think the Art Museum, Steven Starr restaurants, or the Electric Factory for starters -- it's not often the City is known for its outdoor offerings. Sure, the Schuylkill River and Fairmount Park are treasures and make living in Philadelphia seem less like a concrete jungle and more like a placid town.

But a little further out in the Greater Philadelphia suburbs, the Brandywine Valley in Southern Chester County, is known throughout the country as the "cradle of horticulture." It's a big reason why Longwood Gardens, situated on more than 1,000 acres in Kennett Square, was the chosen as the local partner for the inaugural National Public Gardens Day on May 8.

Longwood is one of 30 members of Greater Philadelphia Public Gardens, which are all part of the American Public Gardens Association, the group that partnered with RainBird to turn National Public Gardens Day from a concept into reality. The goal is to raise awareness of the role the country's public gardens play in education the public on conservation and the environment. There are few public gardens that do that as well as Longwood, which is the living legacy of industrialist Pierre S. DuPont and inspires people through excellence in garden design, horticulture, education and the arts.

Longwood celebrated National Public Gardens Day, which kicked off Mother's Day weekend, by giving out free sunflower seeds to the first 1,000 visitors. They went quickly, and visitors were just as quickly drawn to the Grand Flower Bouquet Demonstration, as well as the Spring Blooms display of more than 230,000 blooming tulips in a dazzling array of colors.

Miles away, the city even got dressed up for the occasion. A digital flower graced the side of the Cira Center building, lit up in yellow, green and white on a mild, spring-like Friday night.