Gardens
There are a number of stunning gardens in the area that are open to the public at times. Strolling through a garden or taking a picnic into an oasis of sculpted nature is another way to appreciate the beauty of the area and engage with the outdoors.

The Brine Garden 

Location: 
21 Blue Bird Inn Road
Pawling, NY

Underway since 1990, the garden is the work of GardenLarge's principal landscape designers, Duncan and Julia Brine. Anne Raver of the New York Times describes the Brine Garden as "a dreamlike landscape." It is a private, six-acre, botanical garden with a diverse plant collection, including many natives. 

Open Day:
In July and October, the Garden Conservancy, which makes America's finest private gardens available to the public, presents the Brine Garden, rain or shine, (admission). 

All other open day updates are posted here. Visitors are also welcome by arrangement with their garden club. 

Publications:
The Brine Garden is featured in Gardens of the Hudson Valley (Monacelli Press). The garden also appears on the cover of 50 Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants (Timber Press). GardenLarge's work is featured in the New York Times, Horticulture, the Litchfield County Times' Passport Magazine, Hudson Valley Magazine's Best of the Hudson Valley, RuralIntelligence.com, and Scott Calhoun's Designer Plant Combinations (Storey Publishing). 

For more information email info@gardenlarge.com or call 845.855.9023

Innisfree 

Located in Millbrook, NY, Innisfree is a 150-acre public garden in which the ancient art of Chinese landscape design has been reinterpreted to create, without recourse to imitation, a unique American garden. At Innisfree the visitor strolls from one three-dimensional picture to another. Streams, waterfalls, terraces, retaining walls, rocks, and plants are used not only to define areas but also to establish tension or motion. The 40-acre lake is glacial, most of the plant material is native, and the rocks have come from the immediate forest. 

Season: 
Innisfree Garden is open from May 7 to October 20.

Hours: 
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 10 AM to 4 PM. Saturdays, 
Sundays, and legal holidays, 11 AM to 5 PM. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays except legal holidays.

Scherer Garden 

Location: 
10 Birch Hill Road
Pawling, New York

The garden began to develop more than twenty years ago after we moved a 200-year-old house to the site. In collaboration with Robin Zitter, the garden continues to evolve and includes paths throughout the east and west woodland as well as the pool area, mixing woody and herbaceous areas. The east area is marked by rhododendrons, ferns, and spring-blooming bulbs, the west by a pergola and bench along with evergreens and boxwood. The pool area is set apart by its rocky terrain and includes a brief walk. A knot garden anchors the back of the house and enhances the lovely Quaker Hill view. 

Access: see www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays