Greenwood Gardens

Last Sunday was a beautiful day, and Tom and I were looking for something to do.  I started Googling "New Jersey hidden gems" and came across Greenwood Gardens.  Since it wasn't too far from our house, we decided to check it out!



Greenwood Gardens, located in Short Hills, Essex County, New Jersey, is a fairly new 28-acre public garden, located next to South Mountain Reservation.  Formerly a private estate, the last family to own the property established Greenwood Gardens as a public space in 2003.  The main house and terrace have been restored, and work continues on the gardens and other structures.  There is a $10.00 entrance fee.

A Georgian Revival-style home looks out onto the main lawn.  From here we walked down into the gardens.  There are so many little pathways to take, with something new to see down each one.  I think my favorite part of Greenwood Gardens was seeing all these little structures and details everywhere.  It was so quaint and charming!

The Summerhouse

It was so appropriate that I had just finished reading Heartless by Marissa Meyer when we visited, because dotting the landscape were lifesize chess pieces, like this guy!

The Teahouse

The estate used to have many water features, like The Cascade below, that are now used for plantings.

These gorgeous colored tiles can be found in many places around the estate, and they add such a sense of whimsy - really beautiful!

Although Greenwood Gardens isn't huge (we were probably there for an hour and a half), it really was a magical place to visit.  Check their website for information about hours of operation and tours!