In one of his poems, New York poet Walt Whitman pined for a fragrant garden where he could walk undisturbed. With thousands of public gardens throughout the state of New York, he would have had no problem finding one. New York State has had a green thumb for some time. The first horticultural organization in the country was formed in
New York City in 1818. Botanical gardens all over the state became havens for
science and conservation, and after the Civil War, western New York became a thriving center for seed companies and plant nurseries.
That's why there's beauty to behold every day of the year. New York's gardens span from rural Schoharie Valley, where ancient oaks stretch amid 548 acres at the
Landis Arboretum, to the Bronx, where the 250-acre
New York Botanical Garden has one of the world's largest glass conservatories. At Long Island's Gold Coast mansions, like
Old Westbury Gardens, you can stroll amid lush gardens with elaborate fountains and statues.
Historic
Hudson Valley homes are surrounded by artfully designed gardens with majestic river views. Washington Irving carefully arranged the garden paths, trees and shrubs at
Sunnyside, and planted an exotic wisteria vine that still envelopes the house. The Beaux Arts gardens at
Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate contain renowned twentieth century sculpture, and the
Vanderbilt Estate is surrounded by formal
Italian Gardens and nearly 2,000 rose bushes.
Tours of
Sonnenberg Gardens, near Canandaigua Lake and
Rochester, include the 1887 Queen Anne-style mansion, greenhouses, and nine formal gardens with thousands of blossoms. Monthly festivals take place amid the opulent gardens at the
Buffalo Botanical Gardens where, any season of the year, you can meander through a Victorian crystal palace filled with tropical plants.