Ideas for a day out
The public gardens in and around New Jersey that are worth planning a whole day around.
Photo: NJ Getaway
Some gardens are pleasant for an hour; these are worth the drive. They are big enough or special enough to fill a day, and each has a season when it is truly spectacular. Most charge admission and some need timed tickets, so check their websites before you set out.
1Public Garden · Hillsborough Township, Somerset County
The former estate of heiress Doris Duke, now open to all: miles of paths and bike routes past lakes, meadows and woodland, and a glass orchid conservatory.
Photo: RollerFanatic000, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
2Public Garden · Ringwood Borough, Passaic County
The official state botanical garden, laid out around Skylands Manor in the Ramapo Mountains, with formal terraces, a lilac garden and a long crabapple vista.
3Public Garden · Millburn Township, Essex County
A hillside Arts and Crafts and Italianate garden in Short Hills, with tiled terraces, stone follies and pools, now carefully restored.
Photo: Lebrsm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
4Public Garden · Far Hills Borough, Somerset County
A rock garden set into a wooded glacial valley, where ferns, wildflowers and alpine plants grow among natural rock outcrops. Spring is the peak.
5Public Garden · Summit, Union County
A hilltop estate garden in Summit, famous for the daffodils that fill its glacial bowl each April, followed by azaleas, roses and herbs.
Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
6Public Garden · Kennett Square, Chester County, PA
Pierre S. du Pont's garden masterpiece: a vast conservatory, dancing fountains, meadow and woodland walks, and a famous holiday light display.
7Public Garden · Winterthur, New Castle County, DE
Henry Francis du Pont's country estate, with a celebrated museum of American decorative arts and a naturalistic garden planned to bloom in waves from spring to fall.
Photo: Esther Westerveld from Haarlemmermeer, Nederland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
8Public Garden · Bronx, Bronx County, NY
About 250 acres in the Bronx, with a Victorian-style glasshouse, an old-growth forest along the Bronx River, and collections that peak from spring cherries to fall color.
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