Mohonk Mountain House - Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, Mohonk Mountain House Part 1, the first part of my trip was covered in a dense fog. But by the middle of the second day, the clouds parted, sun shone through and blue skies took over.

Mohonk means "lake in the sky" and the Victorian castle is located along Lake Mohonk where rock formations from the Shawangunk Ridge frame the 266-room hotel.

According to John Van Etten, the grounds superintendent for the Mohonk Mountain House, the "400-acre estate's natural beauty is emphasized by its many specialty gardens. The landscape features 15 acres of flower gardens, a 3-acre show garden, a memorial rose garden, rock gardens, perennial borders, three cutting gardens, herb gardens, sunken gardens, an aquatic area and an ornamental-grass garden."

I especially loved the fern trail which had about 30 varieties of ferns surrounding a winding path.

And nestled among the ferns, I even found a few Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) plants. I just find these plants so fascinating with the leaf hood covering the spathe in the center:

Now that the fog had lifted, I was able to see the alliums and violas planted together in the flower beds. I loved the color and texture combinations.

After Memorial Day, the flower beds are filled with annuals and tropicals grown in the on-site greenhouse. I am looking forward to going back and visiting at different times of the year to see what is blooming. You can follow along with the gardens and all that's blooming at the Mohonk Gardens on their blog: http://gardeningatmohonk.blogspot.com/

Mohonk Mountain House is just 6 miles west of New Paltz, NY and the NY Thruway, 80 miles from Albany International Airport and 90 minutes from Manhattan.

Mohonk Mountain House - Part 1

The Mohonk Mountain House is located in the Catskills region of New York. In 1869, Albert Smiley purchased 280 acres of land and a ten-room inn at the heart of a 26,000-acre natural area in the Shawangunk Mountains. Smiley envisioned a peaceful retreat where people could enjoy the beauty of nature in a spectacular setting. What started as a ten room inn and tavern is now a historic New York hotel that can accommodate up to 500 guests.
 

The gardens are very well known and over the years, have attracted amateur and professional gardeners who come to attend horticultural lectures, demonstrations and workshops. To quote from The Story of Mohonk, "Gardening with Mr. Smiley was dangerously near a passion." Over the years, succeeding generations of the Smiley family have tried to live up to his gardening standards. The gardens reflect the influence of the French and Italian, but mostly English styles of landscaping of the mid-19th century. On the first few days I was there, every inch of the property was covered with a thick, dense fog. It was beautiful and mysterious at the same time.

The tulips were just about finishing up for the season and the moisture from the fog clung to their petals.

The formal gardens lie between the Mountain House and the surrounding woodlands. Visitors are encouraged to wander through the beds and admire what is blooming. Here, the alliums were towering over the pansies. Beyond this bed were others, waiting to be planted with summer blooming annuals and tropicals.

266 arborvitae make up this fantastic maze. I'll admit, the fog made it even more spooky to me...

A beautiful young cooper beech stood alone in the fog. The property has several fine specimens of copper, weeping and cut-leaf beech trees.

After a day and a half of fog, the sun did make an appearance and transformed everything into a glowing sight of color, shadows and majesty. Stay tuned for my post on Part 2 of my trip to Mohonk Mountain House.