With the return of spring comes flowers and trees starting to blossom in all their glory.
It is the perfect time for Long Islanders to stroll around their local arboretums and to check out the beautiful sceneries of flowers, trees, and array of plants.
Here is a round up of public gardens from across Nassau and Suffolk counties to check out this season.
Long Island Arboretums to Visit This Spring
AVALON PARK
Created by the Paul Simons Foundation with the goal of sharing Simon’s deep love of the outdoors, this captivating park is filled with gardens, trails along the pond, a labyrinth, a rustic barn among the wildflower fields, and winding upper trails. Don’t feed the ducks and keep your dog on-leash when visiting. 200 Harbor Rd., Stony Brook. avalonparkandpreserve.org
BAILEY ARBORETUM
Bailey Arboretum welcomes its visitors to stroll around the peaceful gardens and to enjoy the well-marked trails provided throughout its 42 acres. 194 Bayville Rd., Latingtown. baileyarboretum.org
BAYARD CUTTING ARBORETUM
This arboretum has a collection of plants such as fir, spruce, hemlock, yew, and others that make up the most extensive collection on the Island. These plants combined with the site’s ponds and streamlets provide opportunities for visitors to observe a broad range of land and aquatic birds. 440 Montauk Hwy., Great River. bayardcuttingarboretum.com
BRIDGE GARDENS
A five-acre gem in the heart of Bridgehampton, Bridge Gardens is a unique public and demonstration garden with mysterious hedgerows, a wide variety of perennial and annual flowers and shrubs, and a unique four-quadrant herb garden featuring culinary, medicinal, ornamental, and textile/dye plants. 36 Mitchell Ln., Bridgehampton. peconiclandtrust.org
CLARK BOTANIC GARDEN
This 12-acre living museum and educational facility is dedicated to understanding and appreciating the world’s plant life through horticulture, education and research. Collections at the garden include native spring wildflowers, conifers, roses, perennials, daylilies, wetland plants, rock garden plants, herbs, butterfly plants, medicinal plants and over a dozen collections of particular plant families. 193 I. U. Willets Rd., Albertson, clarkbotanic.org
LONG HOUSE RESERVE
LongHouse Reserve is a museum, garden and a sculpture park, to be appreciated in a contemplative manner. Bring your cell phones as you walk the gardens to access highlights narrated by Jack Lenor Larsen. No dogs allowed. 133 Hands Creek Rd., East Hampton longhouse.org
THE MADOO CONSERVANCY
The Madoo Conservancy is dedicated to the study, preservation, and enhancement of Madoo, the ever changing, horticulturally diverse garden with historic structures established in 1967 by artist, gardener, and writer Robert Dash. No dogs allowed. 618 Sagg Main St., Sagaponack. madoo.org
OLD WESTBURY GARDENS
Old Westbury Gardens, listed on the National Register of Historical Places, has been planted with more than 7,000 tulip, hyacinth, daffodil, and allium bulbs. Its 200 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes surround a magnificent Charles II-style mansion. 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury. oldwestburygardens.org
PINELAWN MEMORIAL PARK AND ARBORETUM
This 500-acre Level II arboretum’s expansive grounds include vibrant flower beds, flowering trees, fountains, monuments, and historical statues. Pinelawn boasts three collections of arboreta: the General Collection, the Primary Collection, and the Noteworthy Collection, which contains multiple rare and well-aged trees. Pinelawn hosts community events on its grounds throughout the year. 2030 Wellwood Ave., Farmingdale. pinelawn.com/arboretum
PLANTING FIELDS ARBORETUM
The 409-acre landscape of the Planting Fields Arboretum is made up of gardens that include the Italian Garden, Cloister Garden, Rose Garden, Sensory Garden and Dahlia Garden. 1395 Planting Fields Rd., Oyster Bay, plantingfields.org
ROBERT F. ENCH TEACHING GARDENS
In an area greater than 4 four acres, a series of theme gardens, or ‘garden rooms’, have developed since the 1930s. Beyond the Annual Beds is the Rose Garden, and enter into the Beech Hedge Garden, now a Gray or ‘Ghost Garden.’ Or, walk to the left into the Dwarf Conifer Collection, or to the right, behind the grove of weeping higan cherries into the Joan Bisset Memorial Garden. Farmingdale State College, 2350 Broadhollow Rd., Farmingdale. farmingdale.edu
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