Gardens of the Hudson Valley

The majesty of the Hudson River has captivated both artists and visitors for generations, and the gardens along its banks have a special character. Those created for the Gilded Age estates are more formal; private gardens respond directly to the rolling landscape and mature forests. The area is a crucible for the development of American landscape design since the major figures—Alexander Jackson Downing, Frederick Law Olmsted, Beatrix Farrand, and Fletcher Steele—all worked in the Hudson Valley.

 

Gardens of the Hudson Valley focuses on the historic landscape and how gardens have been integrated into it. Photographers Steve Gross and Susan Daly have selected twenty-five gardens between Yonkers and Hudson, including famous estate gardens like Kykuit, Boscobel, the Vanderbilt Mansion, and Olana (all open to the public) and private gardens that combine sweeping views and lush plantings.

 

Garden writers Susan Lowry and Nancy Berner describe each of the gardens in detail, focusing on the history of the site and the strategies for design and plant materials.

Photographers Susan Daley and Steve Gross have collaborated on a number of books focusing on historic houses and landscapes including Creole Houses: Traditional Homes of Old Louisiana, Old Florida: Florida’s Magnificent Homes, Gardens, and Vintage Attractions, Catskill Country Style, and Time Wearing Out Memory: Schonarie County.

 

Susan Lowry and Nancy Berner are the authors of Garden Guide New York City.

 

Gregory Long, President of the New York Botanical Garden, is the author of Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley.

Foreword

Gregory Long

Introduction

Clermont

Germantown

Peter Bevacqua and Stephen King

Claverack

Hudson Bush Farm

Claverack

Gerald Moore and Joyce Nereaux

Hudson

Olana

Hudson

River School Farm

Livingston

Tailings

Germantown

Conrad Hanson

Germantown

Montgomery Place

Annandale-on-Hudson

Blithewood

Annandale-on-Hudson

Amy Goldman

Rhinebeck

Vanderbilt Mansion

Hyde Park

Hosack Farm

Hyde Park

Bellefield

Hyde Park

Locust Grove

Poughkeepsie

Duncan and Julia Brine

Pawling

StoneCrop Gardens

Cold Spring

Michael Schoeller

Kent Falls

Boscobel

Cold Spring

Lisburne Grange

Garrison

Manitoga

Cold Spring

Lyndhurst

Tarrytown

Untermyer Park

Yonkers

Alder Manor

Yonkers

Kykuit

Pocantico Hills

Gardens Open to the Public

Acknowledgments