New Jersey State Botanical Garden At A Glance...
- Todays Sunrise: 7:10 am, Sunset: 4:29 pm
- New Jersey Gateway Region Passaic County
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New Jersey State Botanical Garden is part of Ringwood State Park
About New Jersey State Botanical Garden
From the delicate shades of a tiny wildflower to the vibrant colors of massed annual plantings, Skylands is a place of beauty in any season. Here you can wander amid the elegance of formal gardens, or along gentle paths winding through the woods. The NJBG includes 96 acres of specialty gardens surrounded by 1000 acres of woodlands. You're invited to wander and explore the miles of marked trails. Skylands is also a safe haven for unusual plant species from around the world. The garden protects and preserves these plants as their natural habitats are changed forever by progress.
The New Jersey State Botanical Garden is a part of Ringwood State Park, New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, Department of Environmental Protection.
Description and photo borrowed from njbg.org
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Activities:
- Walking
Amenities:- Bathrooms
- Parking Lot(s)
- Gardens
- Picnic / Sitting Area
- Benches
Trails:- Flat / Easy
- Walking Paths
Park Type:- Gardens / Arboretum
Rules/Regulations:- Alcohol *NOT Permitted*
Contact / Location
A Brief History
The New Jersey State Botanical Garden forms the heartland of a property that Francis Lynde Stetson (1846-1920) assembled from pioneer farmsteads here in the Ramapo Mountains. Stetson named his country estate "Skylands Farms" and maintained a stylish mansion of native granite, a working farm with more than thirty outbuildings, gardens and a vast lawn that also served as a nine-hole golf course. A prominent New York lawyer, incorporator of railroads and the U.S. Steel Corporation, he entertained such friends as Grover Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, Ethel Barrymore and J.P. Morgan here at Skylands. He was a trustee of the New York Botanical Garden and chose Samuel Parsons, Jr., a protege of Frederick Law Olmsted, to lay out his estate.
Parsons, founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects and New York City parks commissioner, designed the grounds, drainage systems and roads. He later used photos of his Skylands work, including Swan Pond, to illustrate his book, The Art of Landscape Architecture, Its Development and Its Application to Modern Landscape Gardening, a definitive text (1915).
Skylands was sold in 1922 to Clarence McKenzie Lewis (1877-1959), an investment banker and also a trustee of the New York Botanical Garden. When Mr. Lewis purchased the property, he set out to make it a botanical showplace. The Stetson house was torn down, and the current Tudor mansion of native granite was built on the site.
Lewis engaged the most prominent landscape architects of his day, the firm Vitale and Geiffert, to design the gardens around his new summer home. Feruccio Vitale (1875-1933), who specialized in private estates, included among his clients John Wanamaker. Alfred Geiffert (1890-1957) designed Rockefeller Center, the grounds of Princeton University, and the National Gallery of Art. Photos of their work illustrate an Encyclopedia Britannica article on landscape architecture.
Most of the trees now framing the house were planted at that time, including the magnificent copper beeches. Lewis stressed symmetry, color, texture, form and fragrance in his gardens. He wanted to appeal to the senses. For thirty years, Lewis collected plants from all over the world and from New Jersey roadsides. The result is one of the finest collections of plants in the state. Lewis had over 60 gardeners working in peak seasons.
In 1966, New Jersey purchased the 1,117 acres of Skylands from Shelton College, which had used it as a campus.
The Honorable Robert Roe, then commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Economic Development, said, "I regard the preservation of this area of the state as essential and a foremost opportunity to meet the Green Acres objectives." The Skylands Garden was the first property purchased under the Green Acres program.
In March 1984, Governor Thomas Kean designated the central 96 acres surrounding the manor house as the State's official botanical garden. It has been placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Programs / Education
Programs are free unless otherwise noted. Donations are gratefully accepted. For events that require reservations, or for questions, please call the NJBG office at (973) 962-9534.
All events begin or take place at the Carriage House Visitor Center unless otherwise specified.
Parking
On summer Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, there is a State Park parking fee of $5 for New Jersey-registered vehicles and $7 for non-New Jersey-registered vehicles. Oversized vehicles (vehicles that occupy more than one normal parking space, including vehicles with trailers, RVs, etc.) are charged double the normal rate. At all other times, parking is free.
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Related Groups / Organizations
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More To Explore in New Jersey State Botanical Garden
Nearby Places
- New Jersey State Botanical Garden (~0 miles)
- Ringwood State Park (~0 miles)
- Ringwood Manor (~1 miles)
- Flatwater Paddle Co. - Monksville Reservoir (~3 miles)
- Long Pond Ironworks State Park (~4 miles)
- Ramapo Valley County Reservation (~4 miles)
- Glen Gray Camp (~4 miles)
- Tackle and Field (~5 miles)
- Campgaw Mountain Ski Area (~5 miles)
- Jungle Habitat (~5 miles)
- Greenwood Lake Airport-4n1 (~6 miles)
- The New Weis Center for Education, Arts & Recreation (~6 miles)
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Ringwood, New Jersey 07456
Passaic County