Gardens and Grandeur

of the Hudson River Valley

Watch for new dates in 2025

Sunday, September 17 – Thursday, September 21, 2023 

5 Days - 4 Nights

New York’s Hudson River Valley is renowned for its intense historical significance, the legacy of America’s great industrialists and the grand gardens that flank both sides of its waters. For centuries, artists and authors have been inspired by the architectural, natural and horticultural treasures of the area. Now is your chance to join a modern day “Hudson River School” designed especially for garden enthusiasts! This tour branches up and down the mighty Hudson with visits to sites that truly run the garden gamut. From the classically manicured landscapes at Lyndhurst to the bold blurring of house and grounds at Russel Wright’s Manitoga, this tour will inspire even the greenest of thumbs to view the term “garden variety” in a whole new light. Just how green is this valley? Read on to find out!

Day One, Sunday, September 17:

Plan to arrive at New York’s LaGuardia Airport by noon.  Once you arrive, meet your full-time tour manager, board your private motor coach and your Hudson Valley adventure begins.

Your first stop is at the Cloisters, one certain to make life-long memories. This museum is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was built in the 1930’s resembling architectural elements of several European medieval abbeys.  It is used to exhibit art and architecture from Medieval Europe. The Cloisters was landscaped with gardens planted according to horticultural information obtained from Medieval manuscripts and artifacts and the structure includes multiple Medieval-style cloistered herb gardens. 

Although each of the three gardens at The Met Cloisters is unique, their design and plantings are based on information found in documents and works of art from the Middle Ages. The gardens were originally laid out and planted in 1938, the year The Met Cloisters opened.

 In the Judy Black Garden at the Cuxa Cloister, arcaded walkways surround an enclosed courtyard, that is open to the sky. Here, medieval European species and modern garden plants from Asia and the Americas combine to provide color and scent from early spring until late fall.

The Bonnefont Cloister garden, contains one of the most specialized plant collections in the world. All of its approximately 300 species were grown and used during the Middle Ages for purposes as varied as food, medicine, magic and artist materials. The raised beds, wattle fences and wellhead are all features depicted frequently in medieval sources.

The plantings in the Trie Cloister garden evoke the flowering meadow so often depicted in medieval works of art. The single field of herbs and flowers refers to the grounds of millefleurs tapestries, in which many species bloom simultaneously in an eternal spring. Many of the plants depicted in the Unicorn Tapestries—a masterpiece of The Met Cloisters—are cultivated in the Trie Cloister, though the plants bloom in the proper season.

Depart The Cloisters late afternoon and travel to your hotel and home for the next four nights. The Hilton Garden Inn Westchester-Dobbs Ferry is a full-service hotel and ideally located in Rivertowns Square where shops and restaurants are just a few steps away.  

Once you have refreshed, gather in the lounge for a Welcome Reception. Sip a glass of wine and enjoy a savory snack while you get acquainted with the members of your group. Close out your evening with an included dinner served in the hotel’s on-site restaurant.

Day Two, Monday, September 18:

Start your day with breakfast served at the hotel. Then board the coach and head out for a day filled with history, natural beauty and delicious wines.

Your first stop is in Cold Spring where you will enjoy a morning at Stonecrop Gardens, a veritable gardener’s paradise! Perched in a dramatic setting in the Hudson Highlands, Stonecrop Gardens was the former private garden of Garden Conservancy founder, Frank Cabot and his wife, Anne, and has become an important destination for gardening enthusiasts since opening to the public in 1992. The display gardens cover an area of about 12 acres and incorporate a diverse collection of gardens and plants. A 2,000 square-foot conservatory housing tender specimens floats on a pond near the entry and multiple greenhouses display alpines, tropicals and succulents. Your visit includes a guided tour of the grounds followed by free time to explore and shop for plants on sale in the Potting Shed.

Depart Stonecrop about noon and continue a short distance north to Poughkeepsie. Here you will stop for lunch on your own at a charming local café. 

Depart the café and travel just up the street to your next destination, the Locust Grove Estate, a National Historic Landmark.  The 200-acre property includes homes, a carriage house, ice house, trails, a flower garden and a vegetable garden, and it overlooks the Hudson River from a bluff. The estate includes a home designed for Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph. The Italianate style mansion was completed in 1851. Once inside the historic mansion, you will step back in time to witness the early years of the 20th century; the Young family's collection of Hudson River School paintings, early 19th-century American furniture and personal possessions that are still in place after more than a century. Your visit includes a guided tour of the house and gardens.

 The ideal way to end your day of touring is with a refreshing stop at the Benmarl Winery where you will enjoy a taste of their renowned wines. Situated on 37 acres overlooking the Hudson River Valley, this winery is the oldest vineyard in North America. Your visit includes tasting of six wines.

 Depart the Winery and travel back to the hotel.  There will be time to refresh and relax. After a busy day of travel, you’ll be ready for the casual vibe of a locals’ favorite eatery. Offering spectacular views of the Hudson River, the restaurant is known for its flavorful, fresh seafood.

Day Three, Tuesday, September 19:

the-russel-wright-house.jpg

Following an early breakfast, board your coach and travel north for a diverse day of garden touring. Today’s first visit will be to Manitoga, the former home, studio and 75-acre woodland garden of American industrial designer, Russel Wright. Built on the site of an abandoned granite quarry in Garrison, the complex is an utterly unique testament to Wright's enduring ideas about good design and living in harmony with nature and holds the distinction of being both a National Historic Landmark and one of the few 20th century modern homes with original landscape open to the public. Features of the house include large expanses of glass allowing for views of the 30-foot Waterfall, the Quarry Pool and surrounding landscape. Boulders, plantings and stone terraces are positioned to bring the outdoors in, blending architecture and landscape. Although the many elements of the garden are familiar—house, terraces, trellis, and paths—nothing is conventional. During this morning’s visit, Manitoga’s resident groundskeeper will lead your group on an immersive House, Studio and Landscape tour. Your visit also includes shuttle service to and from the site.

By this time, you’ll be ready to sit back and relax awhile.  Climb aboard the Pride of the Hudson for a 2-hour narrated site seeing luncheon cruise. Bask in the open air on the spacious sundeck or enjoy the comfort of the climate controlled main salon featuring huge wrap-around windows. Your cruise will take you by Washington’s Headquarters, Mount Beacon, Bannerman Island, Breakneck Mountain, Cold Spring, World’s End, Constitution Island and West Point.

When the boat returns to dock, board the coach and travel to a most memorable destination, Innisfree Garden. The garden is a nonprofit public garden influenced by Chinese style.  The garden was established between 1930 and 1960 as the private garden of Walter and Marion Beck, inspired by scroll paintings of the 8th-century Chinese poet and painter Wang Wei. With the help of landscape architect Lester Collins from Harvard University, individual garden scenes inspired by the Chinese paintings were connected to an overall landscape around a glacial lake, in keeping with the ecological surroundings.

The 150-acre garden features streams, waterfalls, terraces, retaining walls, rocks and plants based on principles of Chinese landscape design. Most of the plants are native, and rocks come from the local forest. Tyrrel Lake is a large, deep glacial lake from which water is pumped into a hillside reservoir, and thence to the garden's water features. Follow your tour manager on a stroll through this amazing garden and magical destination. Martha Stewart has said that Innisfree is her favorite garden!

Arrive back at the hotel.  There will time to refresh before you head out to discover your new favorite restaurant when you have dinner on your own at an establishment in Rivertowns Square. Or, simply relax and have dinner at the hotel’s casual eatery.

Day Four, Wednesday, September 20:

Following breakfast in the hotel, board the coach and travel a short distance to Tarrytown, home of the majestic estate, Lyndhurst Mansion.  Lyndhurst is one of America’s finest Gothic Revival mansions.  Built in 1838, Lyndhurst was first conceived in the minds of architects, A. J. Davis and William Paulding. The house was first named “Knoll,” although critics quickly dubbed it “Paulding’s Folly” because of its unusual design that includes fanciful turrets and an asymmetrical outline. The second owner, New York merchant, George Merritt, doubled the house's size in 1864-1865 and renamed it “Lyndenhurst” for the estate’s Linden trees. Railroad tycoon, Jay Gould, purchased the property in 1880 for use as a country house and shortened its name to “Lyndhurst.”

Unlike later mansions along the Hudson River, Lyndhurst's rooms are few and of a more modest scale, and strongly Gothic in character. Hallways are narrow, windows small and sharply arched, and ceilings are fantastically peaked, vaulted and ornamented. The effect is at once gloomy, somber and highly romantic.

 The house sits within a landscape park, designed in the English naturalistic style. by Ferdinand Mangold, whom Merritt hired. Mangold drained the surrounding swamps, created lawns, planted specimen trees and built a conservatory. The park is an outstanding example of 19th-century landscape design with a curving entrance drive that reveals "surprise" views of rolling lawns accented with shrubs and specimen trees. The 390-foot-long onion-domed, iron-framed, glass conservatory, when built, was one of the largest privately owned greenhouses in the United States. 

Your visit includes a one-hour guided mansion tour that covers two floors for a rare glimpse of the lavish decorative arts and furniture left at Lyndhurst by previous owners. The tour, visits approximately 16 rooms and involves climbing one staircase with 25-steps. You’ll visit the first floor of the mansion including the parlor, filled with furniture designed by architect A.J. Davis and the sumptuous Civil War-era dining room. The second-floor centers around the opulent Grand Art Gallery hung with an original collection of European paintings brought to Lyndhurst by the Gould family. Impressive Tiffany stained glass windows adorn the gallery and adjacent bedrooms.

Depart Lyndhurst and travel along the Hudson River to Boscobel, an historic house museum. The house was built in the early 19th century by States Dyckman. It is considered a significant example of the Federal style of American architecture, augmented by Dyckman's extensive collection of period decorations and furniture.

It was originally located in the Westchester County village of Montrose. Restoration efforts in the mid-20th century moved it 15 miles upriver to where it currently stands. Boscobel's distinguishing feature is the unusual delicacy conveyed by the front facade and its ornamentation. Unique among Federal style buildings, carved wooden swags in the shape of drapery, complete with tassels and bowknots, grace the top of the second-story balcony. Nearly one-third of the face is glass, with flanking lights integrated into contemporary windows used in the restoration to enhance the effect. Adjacent to the house is a permanent sculpture garden with ten bronze busts of significant Hudson River School artists. This historic house museum contains one of the finest collections of decorative arts, including furniture, from the Federal period.

Your visit begins with an included picnic lunch served under the Pavilion Tent. Then, join your guide for a house and garden tour.

Return to your hotel in the afternoon and refresh before reconvening in the hotel’s meeting space for a private Wreath-making Workshop with Hamptons-based, dried floral artist, Diana Conklin. A former president of the South Fork Craftsmen’s Guild, Diana teaches the lost art of dried flowers with a fresh twist! Everyone in your group will create a Fall Harvest Wreath that may be hung or used as a centerpiece. Diana will provide a large assortment of dried materials grown on her Long Island farm.

Tonight, gather for an included dinner served at a nearby, hidden treasure Italian restaurant.  This family-owned eatery is known for serving the finest Italian fare in Westchester County.  The staff is not only always thrilled to serve, but also quite entertaining!

Day Five, Thursday, September 21:

 Following breakfast, forage your belongings and check out of the hotel. As you make your way out of town, visit the Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College. Born of the philosophy that native plants provide a regional identity and geographic “sense of place,” the Center showcases plants indigenous to the Northeast in an effort to educate and inspire people to incorporate native plants in their own landscapes. A garden curator from the Center’s “Go Native U” program will guide your group through the Lady Bird Johnson Demonstration Garden and New American Cottage Garden and explain the environmental and economic benefits of native plants that go well beyond their beauty.

Depart Native Plant Center, board the coach and travel to the LaGuardia Airport for your flights home that should be scheduled for departures after 3:00 pm.  Plan to have lunch on your own at the airport.

 Your Package Includes:

  •  ·    4 Nights accommodations

  • ·    4 Breakfasts

  • ·    2 Lunches

  • 1 Welcome reception

  • ·    3 Dinners

  • ·    Admission to the MET Cloisters with guided garden tour

  • ·    Guided tour at Stonecrop Gardens

  • ·    House and Garden Tour at Locust Grove Estate

  • ·    Tasting at Benmaryl Winery

  • ·    House and grounds tour at Manitoga, the Russel Wright Design Center

  • ·    Shuttle service to and from Manitoga

  • ·    Pride of the Hudson River Cruise with Lunch

  • ·    Self-guided tour at Innisfree

  • ·    Docent-led tour at Lyndhurst

  • ·    House and Garden Tour at Boscobel

  • ·    Wreath-making workshop

  • ·    Guided tour of the Native Plant Center gardens at Westchester Community College

  • ·    Services of a full-time tour manager

  • ·    Baggage handling for one piece of luggage per traveler

  • ·    Private motor coach service throughout the tour

  • ·    Taxes and gratuities (Note: Gratuities for the coach driver, tour manager and local guides are not included and are at your discretion based on service)

 Note: The following prices do not include airfare in and out of LaGuardia Airport

Pricing Information:

  • Per person double occupancy: 2,195.00

  • Per person single occupancy: 2,681.00

Prices and itinerary are subject to change.

Custom quotes are available upon request.

Copyright2023ArtInBloomTours, Inc.

 



 

 

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