New Jersey State Botanical Garden: Octagonal Garden

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5 years ago

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The Octagonal Garden at NJ State Botanical Garden»

The Skylands section of Ringwood State Park in northern New Jersey consists of the historic Skylands Manor, Shepherd Lake and the New Jersey Botanical Garden. In 1966, the State of New Jersey purchased the estate to form its State Botanical Gardens.The gardens are open to the public every day of the year and are on 96 acres in the Ramapo Mountains. They are maintained by the non-profit Skylands Association.In the 1920s-50s, Skylands was owned by Clarence Lewis. Lewis was a wealthy investment banker who was also a trustee of the New York Botanical Garden. He collected plants and employed 60 gardeners to work his estate.The Octagonal Garden is on the upper tier of the manor’s terraced gardens, just off the back patio. The Octagonal Garden, along with the Magnolia, Azalea, Summer and Peony are part of the estate’s Italianate Garden design. The central feature is a fountain surrounded by dwarf plantings.