New Jersey State Botanical Garden

From Mikomos

Nice place to walk around and look at plants and trees (in the winter, dead trees :-)). Quiet, lots of walking, benches to sit down... Open all year.

Skylands 1,119 acres (4.5 km²), also known as the New Jersey Botanical Garden, is a mansion and 96 acre botanical garden in Ringwood State Park near the town of Ringwood, located within the Ramapo Mountains in Passaic and Bergen Counties in New Jersey, USA. Its formal gardens are open to the public year round.

The house and gardens, including formal gardens and specimen plantings, were built in the 1920s by Clarence MacKenzie Lewis, a New York City stockbroker and civil engineer. Lewis hired architect John Russell Pope to design the Tudor revival manor house (44 rooms). Mr. Pope's other works include the National Archives and the National Gallery of Art. The manor is a reproduction English mansion featuring rectangular, bay and oriel windows. A nine-hole golf course once graced this property.

In 1966 the entire estate was bought by the State of New Jersey to form a State Botanical Garden whose settings include a Lilac Garden, Magnolia Walk, the Wild Flower Garden, the Crab Apple Vista, an allée of 166 trees extending almost a half-mile, and the Perennial Garden. The entire section now comprises slightly over 4,000 acres (16 km²) of parkland.

The Winter Garden includes New Jersey's largest Jeffery pine (Pinus jeffreyi). Its east side features a weeping beech beside a century-old upright beech, as well as a Japanese umbrella pine. Other interesting non-native trees include an Algerian fir (Abies numidica) and Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). [1]

The Botanical Garden: Here you can wander amid the elegance of formal gardens, or along gentle paths winding through the woods.

• Annual Garden - Filled with colorful annuals and different every year! (July-October)
• Perennial Border - An ever-changing palette of bloom (April-October)
• Crab Apple Allée - Bright pink ribbons across the Great Lawn (May)
• Hosta/Rhododendron Garden - Over 200 varieties of these landscape favorites. (May-June)
• Morraine Garden - Heather, sedums, gentians, dwarf conifers, and more in a rocky environment.
• Wildflower Garden - Native plants in both a woodland and bog setting (April-October)
• Lilac Garden - Hundreds of varieties fill the air with their lovely scent (late April-June)
• Peony Garden - Elegant and stately, flanking the whispering Memory Bench (May-June)
• Summer Garden - Bright daylilies and annuals in a charming pocket garden (May-October)
• Azalea Garden - Azaleas, rhododendrons and waterlilies in the reflecting pool (April-October)
• Magnolia Walk - A lovely stroll on shrub-lined paths (April-October)
• Octagonal Garden - A waist-high rock garden surrounding the Octagonal Pool (April-October)
• Winter Garden - The many colors of the evergreens are lovely in all seasons (year round)

Skylands Manor: Designed in the mid-1920's by the distinguished American architect John Russell Pope, whose works include the National Archives and the National Gallery of Art, this lovely Tudor Revival Mansion was intentionally made to appear centuries old.

The Manor's weathered stone facade, the sags and ripples in the slate roof, and the classic ironwork combine to transport you through the centuries. Inside, the ground floor includes exquisite antique paneling, fireplaces, and stained glass collected from estates and castles throughout Europe.

Tips

• Great location for a 6-8 hours, whole day, picnic type date
• Printable Grounds and Parking Lot Map (pdf) .

Hours Subject to change. Always verify.

The New Jersey State Botanical Garden is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Garden closes only in extreme weather conditions, for example, during and immediately after a heavy snowfall.

Admission to the Botanical Garden is always free.

Parking

There is a $5.00 per car State Park parking fee on summer Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

At all other times, parking is free.

Garden Tours Free guided tours of the Botanical Garden are available every Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. from May through October. Meet at the Carriage House Visitor Center.

The guided tours last approximately 45 minutes to an hour, and are conducted by NJBG tour guides, or docents. Tours vary by season to highlight specialty gardens at their peak.

Manor House Tours Forty-five minute guided tours of the Skylands Manor first floor are conducted by NJBG tour guides, or docents. They are given on the certain Sundays, from 12 noon to 4 pm. For list of Sundays see website.

Directions

Off Rte. 17 North (at NY/NJ border). Be careful when leaving the park though - it gets confusing.

Via I-287 North or South

At Exit 57 in Oakland, follow the signs to Skyline Drive. Follow Skyline Drive five miles to its end and turn right onto CR-511. Take the second right onto Sloatsburg Road. Pass Hewitt School and Carletondale Rd. and turn right on Morris Road. Skylands is 1.5 miles up Morris Rd. at the top of the hill.

From NYC (NJ-4 and NJ-208)

Take the George Washington Bridge to NJ-4 west and follow NJ-4 eight miles through Paramus. Then, take NJ-208 ten miles to I-287 South to exit 57 and follow the directions above.

Via 511 from Pompton Lakes

With the Wanaque Reservoir on your left, you will pass Skyline Drive on your right and then take the second right onto Sloatsburg Road. Pass Hewitt School and Carletondale Rd. and turn right on Morris Road. Skylands is 1.5 miles up Morris Rd. at the top of the hill.

Via N.Y. Thruway (I-87/287) & Route 17

N.Y. Thruway to Exit 15A (NY Route 17). Follow NY-17 north to Rockland CR-72 West, which becomes Sloatsburg Rd. in New Jersey. Take Sloatsburg Rd. past Ringwood Manor. Make the next left onto Morris Rd. Skylands is 1.5 miles up Morris Rd. at the top of the hill.Latitude: 41°7′53.699″N
Longitude: 74°15′3.751″W