Long Island's Gardens

AAA TREE SERVICE

631-993-1039 / 516-659-4716

www.AAATreeServiceNY.com

During the warmer months, you can enjoy the sight of lush greenery and colorful flowers blossoming in public gardens on Long Island. You and your friends or family can relax and stroll as you admire nature’s colorful creations.

There’s nothing like sinking your bare toes in warm Long Island garden dirt. Especially when it’s public Long Island garden dirt. These are some of the best.

Bayard Cutting Arboretum

440 Montauk Highway

Great River

(631) 581-1002

Now a New York State park, the Bayard Cutting Arboretum was a former estate, created to “provide an oasis of beauty and quiet…for those who delight in outdoor beauty.” With acres of fir, pine and other trees, the arboretum boasts some of the largest trees of their species in the area. In spring and summer, wildflowers dot the green expanses crisscrossed by ponds and small streams.

Bayville Road and Feeks Lane

Lattingtown

(516) 571-8020

When businessman Frank Bailey built a house on 43 acres in Lattingtown, he wanted it to be "a living, growing museum...of trees and shrubs," and gave it the whimsical name "Munnysunk." A self-taught horticulturist, Bailey grew native and non-native trees including the exotic Dawn Redwood. This species was rediscovered in China in the mid-20th century, long after experts thought it had gone extinct. Now listed as "critically endangered," 20 of the seedlings Bailey obtained and planted still survive. One is thought to be the widest such tree on earth.

Bridge Gardens

36 Mitchells Lane

Bridgehampton

(631) 283-3195

First opened to the general public in the spring of 2009, Bridge Gardens was created by gardeners Jim Kilpatric and Harry Neyens. Working for 20 years on the five-acre property, they created fantastic topiary, lavender beds, a garden maze, an herb garden, a hidden bamboo room and other lush delights. Now owned and run by the Peconic Land Trust, Bridge Gardens is open to visitors from May 1 through September, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon-4 p.m. on Sundays. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the gardens have additional opening hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon-5 p.m. and on Fridays from noon until dusk. Admission fee is $10 for adults, or $20 for a family of up to four.

Clark Botanic Garden

193 I. U. Willets Road

Albertson

(516) 484-2208

Clark Botanic Garden opened in 1969 as a living museum and educational facility. Visit its 12 acres to stroll through collections including butterfly plants, medicinal plants, native wildflowers, roses, rock garden plants and more. The garden is known for its daylilies and is listed as an official Daylily Garden by the American Hemerocallis Society. There are only 325 such gardens listed in the United States.

The garden offers educational programs. Please check the Clark Botanic Garden website for details. Admission is free, but voluntary donations are greatly appreciated.

Hofstra Arboretum

114 Student Center

Hempstead

(516) 463-6815

Hofstra University doesn't just grow a love of learning. On its 240-acre campus, there's also an arboretum. Who knew? With over 12,000 trees representing over 600 species, stand tall at the university, and it's open to the public. In addition, the Friends of Hofstra University Arboretum have turned two campus acres into a bird sanctuary.

347 Oyster Bay Road

Locust Valley

(516) 676-4486

Step into this tranquil space and you'll leave behind any memories of traffic on Oyster Bay Road. Opened to the public in 1987, the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden was originally commissioned in 1960 by a former U.S. ambassador to Japan and his wife to remind them of the calm oases they experienced when they lived in Japan. The four wooded acres are filled with deep green plants and trees, against a backdrop of white sand and gravel and dark-hued stones. With Buddhist and Shinto elements, the stroll garden includes an authentic Japanese tea house amid flourishing bamboo, evergreens and water elements.

$7 admission. $10 for tour and Japanese tea ceremony (reservations required.)

LongHouse Reserve

133 Hands Creek Road

East Hampton

(631) 329-3588

Famed textile artist and collector Jack Lenor Larsen had LongHouse Reserve built to resemble a 17th-century Shinto shrine in Japan. With 16 acres, LongHouse Reserve's mission is to blend art with nature, and this idea is reflected in the sculptures adorning the gardens.

Programs include Twilight Tours, Sound Meditation, changing art exhibits poetry reading and more. Group tours for schoolchildren can be arranged. Open to the public Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m. In July and August, the reserve is open Wednesday through Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. $10.00 admission for adults, $8.00 for seniors. Members and children under 12 accompanied by an adult: free.

Nassau County Museum of Art - Formal Gardens

One Museum Drive

Roslyn Harbor

(516) 484-9337

In 1919, industrialist and patron of the arts, Henry Clay Frick, gave his son, Childs Frick, and his bride, Frances, a wedding present in the form of a sprawling, 200-acre estate. Today that property, with its Georgian mansion and landscaped surroundings, is the home of the Nassau County Museum of Art.

When Mrs. Frick lived at the estate, she commissioned Marian Coffin to design the formal gardens. The original design's walkways and shrubs still remain. Some of the other gardens have been partially restored and maintained.

To take a photo tour of the museum's outdoor artwork, please go to Outdoor Sculpture

Old Westbury Gardens

71 Old Westbury Road

Old Westbury

(516) 333-0048

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Old Westbury Gardens was once the home of financier John S. Phipps and his family. The mansion is surrounded by 200 acres of formal gardens, woodlands and lakes. Stroll through the former estate to see rich greenery, fragrant flowers like roses and lilacs and a tranquil pond.

In season, there are outdoor concerts. Throughout the year, there are adult and family programs. The house and gardens are open every weekend from April 4th. April 27-October 31: open daily except Tuesdays, from 10-5 p.m. Tours are available.

$10.00 admission to the house and gardens, $8 over 62, $5 for ages 7-12, free for children 6 and under.

Planting Fields Arboretum

1395 Planting Fields Road

Oyster Bay

(516) 922-9200

A former Gold Coast estate, Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park sits on over 400 acres with formal gardens, greenhouses, woodland trails and more. Coe Hall, the estate's original 65-room mansion, still sits on the property and is open for tours from the spring through the fall.

The estate's grounds were designed by the famed Olmsted brothers. The landscapes are lovely in every season. There are frequent scheduled programs for adults as well as children, and the grounds are often used as a backdrop for wedding photography.