Explore Our Gardens
Whether you’re planning to visit a few or all of our participating gardens, learn a little something about each unique space before you arrive. Scroll for detailed information and photos of each garden.
1 Beatrix Farrand Garden
4097 Albany Post Rd, Hyde Park
This walled Arts & Crafts styled garden, located on the FDR National Historic Site, was designed in 1912 by famed landscape gardener, Beatrix Farrand. In addition to the historic garden which displays Farrand’s characteristic design expertise, the nonprofit BFGA recently established the nature-inspired “Wild Garden” which showcases over 160 regional native plants.
2 Blithewood
75 Blithewood Ave, Red Hook
Blithewood Garden at Bard College is a classic example of a walled Italianate garden designed by Francis L. V. Hoppin in 1903.
3 Clermont
1 Clermont Ave, Germantown
The gardens at Clermont State Historic Site are part of the historic country seat of the Livingston family, whose descendants lived on the land for more than 300 years, blending Italian and English influences with the natural beauty of the estate.
4 Eden Share
29 N. Hamilton St, Poughkeepsie
A garden to promote physical and mental wellness while feeding the community. The focus is on wellness, gardening (and life skills), regenerative agriculture, and producing healthy food.
5 Garden of Eatin’
853 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie
The Garden of Eatin' operated by volunteers, provides organic, nutritious food for clients of the Our Daily Bread food pantry which is located on the same property.
6 Montgomery Place
55 Montgomery Place, Red Hook
Edward Livingston and his wife, Louise, second-generation heirs to Montgomery Place, laid out several walking trails while their daughter, Cora Livingston-Barton, designed many of the formal and rough gardens with the help of one of America’s best-known landscape designers, Andrew Jackson Downing. A third-generation Livingston, Violetta White Delafield, added the current formal and rough gardens in the 20th century.
7 Pleasant Valley Community Garden
1907 Salt Point Turnpike, Salt Point
We are an all-volunteer, non-profit garden community dedicated to providing fresh organic produce to Pleasant Valley Food Pantries, free seeds through our seed library, and sharing the joy of gardening. All are welcome!
8 Wilderstein
330 Morton Rd, Rhinebeck
Wilderstein is renowned for its landscape designed in the American Romantic style by Calvert Vaux. The estate’s historic perennial gardens, meticulously maintained by dedicated volunteers, stand among its most striking and admired features.
Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield
Located at 4097 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, on the FDR National Historic Site. The garden is maintained by BFGA, a nonprofit “Park Partner” of the National Park Service and is entirely donor supported.
This “secret” little garden is both historic and significant in many ways. The walled garden was designed by Beatrix Farrand, one of America’s most prominent woman landscape architects of the early 20th century, becoming a leading voice in American landscape design. She is known to have completed over 200 projects, yet this garden is one of the few remaining examples of her work.
The Bellefield estate was owned by Sen. Thomas Newbold who hired Beatrix Jones (later Farrand) in 1912 to design a grand garden in the Gilded Age fashion, after hiring famed architects McKim Mead & White to remodel their family home. The Morgan family enjoyed the home and garden for several decades, and in 1975 donated the entire estate to the National Park Service. The garden lay dormant until brought back to life in the 1990’s by Beatrix Farrand Garden Association volunteers. The garden has been maintained carefully to showcase Farrand’s design brilliance, blending classical European and Arts and Crafts design principles, creating a garden that matches the architecture of the home. In 2022-2024 a Wild Garden was installed outside the original, picturesque fieldstone walls, showcasing over 140 native plants following Farrand’s practice of blending gardens into their natural environments. Visitors will now be able to enjoy and learn about both the historic seasonal perennial beds, vines and lawns inside the walled garden, and swaths of native plants outside the walls.
The garden is open daily, free, for public enjoyment, and many events, garden talks, plant walks, art workshops, group tours, plant sales, concerts, and lectures are offered. Private walks, photos, and picnics are encouraged. All maintenance and public offerings are made possible by generous sponsors, donors, members, and hard-working volunteers. Information about joining, attending, and volunteering is available on the website. Parking and restrooms are available in the adjacent Wallace Center.
4097 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, on the FDR Site.
https://www.BeatrixFarrandGarden.org/
ACTIVITY: Insect hunt w/ spyglass for young; Farrand fav flowers for older kids; ecological info
Blithewood Garden at Bard College
Blithewood Garden at Bard College is a classic example of a walled Italianate garden, it was designed circa 1903 by Francis L. V. Hoppin (1867–1941) of the architectural firm Hoppin & Koen. Situated on a steeply sloping bluff approximately 130 feet above the Hudson River, Blithewood is a 45-acre section of the Bard College campus that was once part of a historic estate comprising a manor house, outbuildings, drives, gardens, lawns, and meadows designed by the father of landscape architecture Andrew Jackson Downing. Located in the heart of the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, Blithewood Garden today remains as breathtakingly beautiful as ever, including its awe-inspiring backdrop of the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River.
75 Blithewood Ave, Red Hook, NY 12571
https://www.bard.edu/arboretum/about/blithewood/
ACTIVITY: Garden guides available throughout the day to answer garden questions and free frisbees, sunglasses and coloring books for kids! Sign up for a catered picnic lunch for two to benefit Blithewood Garden's restoration and take it to-go or enjoy in the garden. See arboretum website for more details.
Gardens at Clermont State Historic Site
The gardens at Clermont State Historic Site are part of the historic country seat of the Livingston family, whose descendants lived on the land for more than 300 years.
Designed primarily in the 1920s and 1930s by Alice Delafield Clarkson Livingston, the gardens blend Italian and English influences with the natural beauty of the estate. Visitors can explore several distinct garden spaces, including the formal Walled Garden inspired by Florence, Italy; the romantic Wilderness Garden centered around a small pond; and the colorful Cutting Garden, originally created to provide fresh flowers for the mansion.
Today, the gardens and grounds offer a unique blend of history, horticulture, and breathtaking Hudson Valley scenery, preserving the legacy of one of New York’s most influential families.
Address: 1 Clermont Ave., Germantown, NY 12526
Eden Share Wellness Garden
Eden Share is a nonprofit, 501(c)3, established to bring the physical and mental health benefits of gardening to underserved communities in Poughkeepsie and Hudson Valley. Our focus is on wellness, gardening (and life skills), regenerative agriculture, and producing healthy food to feed the community.
Eden Share created The Wellness Garden at the Family Partnership Center in 2024 and established a strong presence in the community. Eden Share is also transforming another garden, the Fallkill Community Garden, into a cooperative space that will be open to community members. The total space for both gardens is 18,000 square feet and in 2025, The Wellness Garden produced over 2,500 pounds of produce for Dutchess Outreach, Sparrow’s Nest and other nonprofit organizations.
Green spaces, community ties, and local food production are very important to the City of Poughkeepsie. Eden Share provides these opportunities and brings hope to the surrounding community.
29 North Hamilton Street (Behind building), Poughkeepsie
http://www.edenshare.org
ACTIVITY: Plant and pollinator identification and fresh vegetable tasting.
The Garden of Eatin'
The Garden of Eatin' provides organic healthier food with an increased nutrient content for clients of the Our Daily Bread food pantry which is located on the same property. The food is harvested and packaged on Wednesday mornings to ensure nutritious, straight from the garden produce to support health and well being. The food is distributed to clients on Thursday each week during the growing season. To contact the garden for information or questions, please email Diana at gardenofeatin2024ny@gmail.com
853 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
ACTIVITY: We will have a potting of seed activity for the children along with directions on how to take care of the plant, transplant outdoors, harvest when ready and composting information.
We will have an updated garden pamphlet to hand out with information about our garden.
The Gardens at Montgomery Place
The basic layout and contours at the Montgomery Place historic site, including the gardens, have remained constant throughout most of the estate’s 220 years existence. In addition to its formal gardens and manicured lawns, 45 acres of farmland and 235 acres of woodlands stretch from the Hudson River to the front of the property on River Road. Much of A.J. Downing’s original 19th-century landscape design remains, as well as gardens, water features, and trails from the early 20th century. Exceptional vistas include the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, the rushing waters of the Saw Kill’s lower falls, and the 80-acre South Woods forest. The gardens and grounds at Montgomery Place are free and open to the public to explore everyday, sunrise to sunset.
55 Montgomery Place, Red hook, NY 12571
:https://www.bard.edu/montgomeryplace/
Walk the path west to enjoy the gardens and grounds. Park at the Visitor Center at Montgomery Place
ACTIVITY: Self guided garden tours and trail walks.
Pleasant Valley Community Garden
We are an all-volunteer, non-profit garden community dedicated to providing fresh organic produce to Pleasant Valley Food Pantries, free seeds through our seed library, and sharing the joy of gardening. All are welcome!
Helen Aldrich Park
1907 Salt Point Turnpike Salt Point, NY 12578
https://pleasantvalleycommunitygardens.com/
ACTIVITY: Create seed art, seed balls; provide free pollinator seeds and ecological gardening info
Wilderstein
Wilderstein, the lifelong home of Margaret (Daisy) Suckley, is renowned for its landscape designed in the American Romantic style by Calvert Vaux and features historic perennial gardens, picturesque walking trails and garden structures, and magnificant Hudson River views.
330 Morton Road – Rhinebeck, NY
https://wilderstein.org
ACTIVITY: Perennial gardens open house and self-guided tours of the Wilderstein landscape. Guides will be available to share information about Wilderstein’s perennial gardens and landscape. Visitors that day are also encouraged to explore the estate’s carriage roads and woodland trails, and discover the many historic garden structures and outbuildings.