Old Westbury Gardens - Long Island, New York - Brief Article

Flower & Garden Magazine, March, 2001 by Lyn Dobrin

Some men give jewelry, some candy. Then there's John Phipps who built his wife, Margarite, a 23-room mansion with 300 acres of gardens. Because of that gesture, visitors to Long Island, New York, can enjoy a world-class garden.

The magnificent place is Old Westbury Gardens. In 1903, Phipps told his English bride-to-be that he would build a home here reminiscent of her family estate in Battle Abbey. With John being an heir to an original financier of U.S. Steel, and Margarite of the Grace Shipping Line, this wouldn't be a little cottage! Three years later, the couple and their two young children (two more were to follow) moved into the home where they lived until their deaths in the late 50s.

In 1959, the Boegner children donated the house and gardens to the public. "We developed a board of family and friends to preserve it," says Peggie Phipps Boegner, the only daughter of the four children. The family decided to keep everything just as it was. "We have become established as one of the great gardens of the Western world," says Boegner, who is now 93. "We welcome about 80,000 visitors a year, have 200 active volunteers and an excellent board to ensure welfare. I think our dreams of saving a really beautiful place are coming true."

And truly a really beautiful place it is. The moment you pass through the 18th century wrought iron gates and turn up the driveway leading to the house, you know you have entered somewhere special. The road is a Grande Allee of European tall linden trees, and this driveway appeared in the 1970 film Love Story as the entrance to the home of the affluent character played by Ryan O'Neal. Old Westbury Gardens is a popular spot for magazine and catalogue photo shoots as well, and you'll often find gorgeously clad models draped over balustrades or against trees. The Charles II-style mansion waits atop a small hill.

Here are a few must-see spots in the garden:

* WEST POND

Looking out from the West Terrace steps of the top of the house, you'll see tranquil West Pond. But first take in the grandeur of the enormous American beech next to West Porch. This beech was already full-grown when it was placed there in 1907. The grounds contain numerous specimens of large trees.

This spring-fed fresh water pond--home to ducks, bull frogs, turtles, dragon flies and at times a few too many Canadian geese--provides great visual beauty any time of year but especially in autumn when it mirrors the vivid color of the nearby trees. Beyond the pond is a classic reflecting pool flanked with huge boxwood shrubs that were 100 years old when transported here from Virginia in 1931. The picture is completed with Corinthian columns, a terracotta statue of Diana the Huntress and a fountain.

* PRIMROSE WALK

The brick path, a block long, is covered with a rose-entwined trellis. Below are colorful primroses interplanted with forget-me-nots and azaleas. The walk ends in the 17th century-design rose garden.

* LILAC WALK

Running nearly parallel to the primrose walk is a trail of more than 100 lilac bushes. There are 30 varieties in white, pink, purple, blue and lavender.

* THE WALLED GARDEN

Peggie Boegner calls the walled garden "the jewel of the place," and visitors generally agree. The classic Italian-style garden, contained by an eight-foot brick wall softened with vines and tall plantings, is laid out in front of you as you descend from the lilac walk. It includes over two acres of foliage and flowering plants and paths along the perimeter that bisect at a low fountain in the center. At the rear of the garden is a large lily pool, backed with a pergola laden with gnarled wisteria vines. The garden is alive with color--some pastel groupings and others of more vivid shades. Grassy squares offer the eye a respite.

* GHOST WALK

Margarite Phipps modeled her hemlock ghost walk after one such walk of yews at Battle Abbey. The story was that ghosts of monks slain by soldiers of William the Conqueror (Battle Abbey was a monastery) haunted the yew path. You might shiver when you enter the hemlock walk, but that's probably because the temperature always feels at least 15 degrees cooler than that of the grounds.

* THATCHED COTTAGE

This charming cottage was built as a playhouse for Peggie for her tenth birthday. The little garden is filled with flowers that would appeal to a child, such as lamb's ears and pansies. Of note is the purple clematis which climbs up the wall. You can peek through the windows to see the early-century setup for a child's play. Nearby are three open log cabins built for each of the Phipps boys.

Old Westbury Gardens, located at 71 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury, NY, is open from late April through October, Wednesdays through Mondays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call for autumn and holiday calendar and admission rates: 516.333.0048.

CALENDAR OF BLOOMS

* LATE APRIL/EARLY MAY

Tulips, English daisies, pansies, forget-me-nots, daffodils, roses and wildflowers.

* MID AND LATE MAY

Tulips, lilacs, dogwood, azaleas, wisteria, mountain laurel and bluebells.