The Conservatory - Jewel of Central Park
In Manhattan, Fifth Avenue is home to some of the most famous names: the Plaza Hotel, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and luxury stores like Cartier and Saks Fifth Avenue, among many others.
But one of the lesser known gems on this avenue is the Conservatory Gardens, located on Fifth Avenue north, between 104th and 106th streets.
A stone throw from the Museum of the City of New York, the Harlem Meer and the Museo del Barrio, the Conservatory in Central Park is a piece of European refinement available to everyone, locals and tourists, all year round, a small island of solace a step away from the bustle of the city.
Part of the appeal of this garden, which makes it different from all other Central Park sections, is its changing nature.
The carefully-designed gardens change their flower displays along with the seasons. In addition, plants grow and evolve, and light changes throughout the year and even during the day.
All of this guarantees that no two visits to this garden are equal. Every single time the visitor will discover something different, and have a different visual and sensorial experience in its environs.
The Conservatory is home to hundreds of botanical species
Part of the mission of the Conservatory Garden is to provide a haven to a host of different plants in the city.
As such, it acts as a small botanical garden for children and the general public to know more about plants and to learn to appreciate nature.
Most of the botanical species in the garden are identified by small labels, allowing even the most inexperienced visitor an insight into botany.
Another particular quality of this garden is its peace and quiet.
Unlike other areas of Central Park, the Conservatory is a formal garden, which means that pets should always be on a leash, and picnics, parties and loud gatherings are not allowed. Roller skating, skateboarding, jogging and biking are also prohibited.
While it may sound like a lot of restrictions, these ensure that the garden is safe for quiet strolls, activity for which formal gardens were originally designed for.
Unlike other parks and squares in the city, in the Conservatory visitors can sit and relax as if time had stopped entirely and the city had been left far away.
Designed in 1937 by Gilmore D. Clarke to replace the structure conceived in the original plans for the Central Park, the Conservatory extends over 6 acres (24.000 square metres) of land just south of the pond that was once a fishing spot: the Harlem Meer.
Its main entrance on Fifth Avenue is marked by the Vanderbilt Gates, which once graced the entrance to the Vanderbilt Mansion on Fifth Avenue and 58th street.
When the Mansion was demolished, the city acquired the gates and settled them as entrance for the Central Park’s formal gardens.
The impressive wrought iron gates with gilded appliques were made in Paris specially for the Vanderbilts and shipped by steamship to America.
After WWII, the Conservatory Garden fell into disrepair and by the 1970's it had become a wasteland, filled with trash and graffiti.
However, in 1982, the recently formed Central Park Conservancy came to its rescue.
Under the lead of horticulturist and urban landscape designer Lynden B. Miller, the Conservatory was partially re-planted and fully restored, reopening to the public in 1987.
Its success has been undiminished since, and the Central Park Conservancy makes sure that the garden is kept in its prime.
The Conservatory is comprised of three inter-connecting gardens, each one reflecting a different European source of inspiration.
The Vanderbilt Gates on Fifth Avenue open to the Italian garden: a perfectly manicured lawn crowned by a single jet fountain, enveloped by two alleys of crabapple trees at the sides and a circular pergola at the top.
The elegant views of this formal garden is a regular spot for wedding photographs.
At the left of the Italian Garden we enter the English Garden.
Reminiscent of a true English garden, the tightly contained space among stone walkways is home to dozens of different botanical species arranged in patches of different colours, scents and textures, which are both fascinating and a delight to the senses.
This peaceful garden retains a certain ‘Secret Garden’ quality to it. And the association is no mere coincidence: at its very heart, we find a serene pond populated by water lilies and cruised by goldfish, under the serene watch of the ‘Dickon’ and ‘Mary’, the main characters of ‘The Secret Garden’.
Created by sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh in 1937, the fountain was erected in honor of Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, author of the celebrated children’s classic.
Another sculpture fountain can be found in the French Garden, at the north end of the Conservatory.
Embraced by high walls of greenery and trees, this circular garden opens wide to the sky and welcomes the visitor with the cheerfulness of youth, represented in fountain ‘Three Dancing Maidens’.
Created by German sculptor Walter Schott in 1910, the bronze fountain belonged to the Untermyer family and adorned the grounds of the family state in Yonkers, New York.
In 1947, the successors of Samuel Untermyer donated the sculpture to the Central Park, thus finding its actual residence at the Conservatory.
Another of the appeals of this garden is its notorious flower change, from tulips to Korean chrysanthemums, amid intervals with other species throughout the year.
Several of the benches throughout the gardens have small plaques with dedications donated by the general public.
These not only personalize some of the spots and bestow a sense of community to the gardens, but also help finance the maintenance costs of the Conservatory.
If you’re visiting New York, make sure to take some time off to visit this spot far from the trodden touristic paths, and allow yourself plenty of time to breathe in its peace and forget about the rush of the city.
Just like the rest of Central Park, the Conservatory is open, free of charge, all year round.
To learn more about the garden and its hours, please visit the Central Park’s official page:
https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/conservatory-garden
For more information about the blooming seasons, the flowers and the botanical species that can be found in the Garden, please visit:
https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/conservatory-garden-bloom-schedule/
To learn more about the rescuing efforts for the Conservatory, please go to:
https://grist.org/article/2010-11-12-garden-designer-lynden-miller-says-a-healthy-city-needs-beautifu/
Source: Central Park, Wikipedia
But one of the lesser known gems on this avenue is the Conservatory Gardens, located on Fifth Avenue north, between 104th and 106th streets.
A stone throw from the Museum of the City of New York, the Harlem Meer and the Museo del Barrio, the Conservatory in Central Park is a piece of European refinement available to everyone, locals and tourists, all year round, a small island of solace a step away from the bustle of the city.
Part of the appeal of this garden, which makes it different from all other Central Park sections, is its changing nature.
The carefully-designed gardens change their flower displays along with the seasons. In addition, plants grow and evolve, and light changes throughout the year and even during the day.
All of this guarantees that no two visits to this garden are equal. Every single time the visitor will discover something different, and have a different visual and sensorial experience in its environs.
The Conservatory is home to hundreds of botanical species
Part of the mission of the Conservatory Garden is to provide a haven to a host of different plants in the city.
As such, it acts as a small botanical garden for children and the general public to know more about plants and to learn to appreciate nature.
Most of the botanical species in the garden are identified by small labels, allowing even the most inexperienced visitor an insight into botany.
Another particular quality of this garden is its peace and quiet.
Unlike other areas of Central Park, the Conservatory is a formal garden, which means that pets should always be on a leash, and picnics, parties and loud gatherings are not allowed. Roller skating, skateboarding, jogging and biking are also prohibited.
While it may sound like a lot of restrictions, these ensure that the garden is safe for quiet strolls, activity for which formal gardens were originally designed for.
Unlike other parks and squares in the city, in the Conservatory visitors can sit and relax as if time had stopped entirely and the city had been left far away.
Designed in 1937 by Gilmore D. Clarke to replace the structure conceived in the original plans for the Central Park, the Conservatory extends over 6 acres (24.000 square metres) of land just south of the pond that was once a fishing spot: the Harlem Meer.
Its main entrance on Fifth Avenue is marked by the Vanderbilt Gates, which once graced the entrance to the Vanderbilt Mansion on Fifth Avenue and 58th street.
When the Mansion was demolished, the city acquired the gates and settled them as entrance for the Central Park’s formal gardens.
The impressive wrought iron gates with gilded appliques were made in Paris specially for the Vanderbilts and shipped by steamship to America.
After WWII, the Conservatory Garden fell into disrepair and by the 1970's it had become a wasteland, filled with trash and graffiti.
However, in 1982, the recently formed Central Park Conservancy came to its rescue.
Under the lead of horticulturist and urban landscape designer Lynden B. Miller, the Conservatory was partially re-planted and fully restored, reopening to the public in 1987.
Its success has been undiminished since, and the Central Park Conservancy makes sure that the garden is kept in its prime.
The Conservatory is comprised of three inter-connecting gardens, each one reflecting a different European source of inspiration.
The Vanderbilt Gates on Fifth Avenue open to the Italian garden: a perfectly manicured lawn crowned by a single jet fountain, enveloped by two alleys of crabapple trees at the sides and a circular pergola at the top.
The elegant views of this formal garden is a regular spot for wedding photographs.
The Italian Garden welcomes the visitors entering through Fifth Avenue.
View from the wisteria pergola that crowns the garden.
At the left of the Italian Garden we enter the English Garden.
Reminiscent of a true English garden, the tightly contained space among stone walkways is home to dozens of different botanical species arranged in patches of different colours, scents and textures, which are both fascinating and a delight to the senses.
This peaceful garden retains a certain ‘Secret Garden’ quality to it. And the association is no mere coincidence: at its very heart, we find a serene pond populated by water lilies and cruised by goldfish, under the serene watch of the ‘Dickon’ and ‘Mary’, the main characters of ‘The Secret Garden’.
Created by sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh in 1937, the fountain was erected in honor of Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, author of the celebrated children’s classic.
The "Burnett Fountain" in the English
Garden includes a bird bath
Another sculpture fountain can be found in the French Garden, at the north end of the Conservatory.
Embraced by high walls of greenery and trees, this circular garden opens wide to the sky and welcomes the visitor with the cheerfulness of youth, represented in fountain ‘Three Dancing Maidens’.
The French Garden opens wide at the visitors
Created by German sculptor Walter Schott in 1910, the bronze fountain belonged to the Untermyer family and adorned the grounds of the family state in Yonkers, New York.
In 1947, the successors of Samuel Untermyer donated the sculpture to the Central Park, thus finding its actual residence at the Conservatory.
Walter Schott’s "Three Dancing Maidens"
welcome visitors at the French Garden.
Another of the appeals of this garden is its notorious flower change, from tulips to Korean chrysanthemums, amid intervals with other species throughout the year.
Several of the benches throughout the gardens have small plaques with dedications donated by the general public.
These not only personalize some of the spots and bestow a sense of community to the gardens, but also help finance the maintenance costs of the Conservatory.
If you’re visiting New York, make sure to take some time off to visit this spot far from the trodden touristic paths, and allow yourself plenty of time to breathe in its peace and forget about the rush of the city.
Just like the rest of Central Park, the Conservatory is open, free of charge, all year round.
To Learn More
To learn more about the garden and its hours, please visit the Central Park’s official page:
https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/conservatory-garden
For more information about the blooming seasons, the flowers and the botanical species that can be found in the Garden, please visit:
https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/conservatory-garden-bloom-schedule/
To learn more about the rescuing efforts for the Conservatory, please go to:
https://grist.org/article/2010-11-12-garden-designer-lynden-miller-says-a-healthy-city-needs-beautifu/
Source: Central Park, Wikipedia
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