As blooms of forsythias and daffodils pop up throughout the Hudson Valley, you may be eager to welcome color back to the region. Even if you don’t have your own garden at home, you can still experience the joys of spring at botanical gardens throughout the area. Whether you’re on the hunt for bright flowers, verdant foliage, or tranquil ponds with wildlife, these gardens and arboretums are just what you need to celebrate the season.
Beatrix Farrand Garden
Hyde Park
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Located on the grounds of the Bellefield Mansion in Hyde Park, the Beatrix Farrand Garden is a historically significant wild garden in Dutchess County. Planted in the early 1900s and abandoned in the 1970s, the garden was lovingly restored by the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association in the 1990s and brought back to life withe perfectly composed borders of pinks, whites, and purples, along with vine-traced walls and clipped hemlock hedges.
Bard Arboretum
Annandale-on-Hudson
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At Bard College, the Bard Arboretum rests on 930 acres of Hudson River-adjacent land. The landscape serves as a place of enjoyment and as a living classroom, with multiple distinct gardens and natural areas including Blithewood, Montgomery Place, Elizabethan Knot, Chinese, and Native Gardens.
Boscobel House and Gardens
Garrison
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Visitors may follow the brick path through this 68-acre property, which leads to herb gardens, a formal garden, and the front lawn, which offers iconic views of the Hudson River and Constitution Marsh.Â
Clermont State Historic Site
Germantown
This Columbia County estate offers plenty of colorful blooms in the Cutting Garden, Italian-inspired floral designs within the Walled Garden, and a fish pond as the centerpiece of the Wilderness Garden.
Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden
North Salem
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An intimate oasis providing access to peace and mindfulness for all, the Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden offers tranquil gardens and arts education programs. The garden occupies just over three acres of land centered around a pond and features rare Japanese plants and trees and native species.
Hortus Arboretum
Stone Ridge
A family-run arboretum and botanical garden in Stone Ridge, Hortus Arboretum sustains the native, unusual, and historic plant life of the region. The gardens are over 20 years old and include collections like the Chinese, Native Woodland, and Japanese Shade Gardens.
Innisfree Garden
Millbrook
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On 185 acres in Millbrook, Innisfree Garden is a true American stroll garden of Modernist and Romantic ideals. Chinese and Japanese garden design principles harmoniously blend with elements of nature at Innisfree. Visit in late April to catch thousands of daffodils in bloom, then again in the fall for autumnal colors dancing on the lake.
Locust Grove Estate Gardens
Poughkeepsie
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This 200-acre estate showcases an Italianate villa designed in 1851 for artist/inventor Samuel Morse. The historic 20th-century mansion features Hudson River School paintings and early 19th-century American furniture; a permanent exhibit explores Morse’s careers as an artist and inventor. There’s also a half-acre ornamental garden with one of the largest collections of peonies in the area.
Mountain Top Arboretum
Tannersville
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Sitting on 200 acres of gardens, meadows, and forests in Tannersville, Mountain Top Arboretum displays and maintains native plant communities and curates its collection of cold-hardy native and exotic trees. The destination’s mountaintop elevation provides a unique environment for plant life to thrive.
Orange County Arboretum
Montgomery
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A true botanical garden in Orange County, this arboretum features four different gardens each dedicated to a specific landscape, from raised gardens to cascading water features, with pathways that connect all of the natural areas.
Stonecrop Gardens
Cold Spring
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The Putnam County property includes woodland and water gardens, raised alpine stone beds, cliff rock gardens, and a breathtaking enclosed English-style flower garden, all of which is highly worth a visit. The Conservatory displays greenhouses of alpines, tropicals, and succulents.
Untermyer Gardens Conservancy
Yonkers
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The Walled Garden is just one of the magnificent aspects that this 43-acre City of Yonkers park has to offer. With an amphitheater and large reflecting pool filled with goldfish and koi, the garden also features Japanese hollies and colorful tulips bordering the area during the spring. Take a walk down the stairs of The Vista to a breathtaking view of the Hudson.
Vanderbilt Mansion Gardens
Hyde Park
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Some of the only remaining structures at Vanderbilt Mansion, the Gardener’s Cottage and Tool House are reinforced by mature specimen trees planted by earlier owners. The botanical gardens reflect a European formal garden style, with a pond and pergola at the epicenter.
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