Lloyd Harbor -- A Woodland Garden

In 1964 eight acres of woodlands overlooking Cold Spring Harbor of the Long Island Sound were purchased with the intention of building a "house surrounded by a garden". The bones of their garden were laid out with professional help, and the house was built on the same plane as a mature red oak tree. Original trees and shrubs were retained as much as possible. These included laurel, arbutus, shad blow, holly, dogwood and American chestnut. Around the house and along pathways into the woods flowering trees and shrubs including rhododendron, azalea, camellia, and magnolia were planted. The woodlands were enlarged when five additional acres were added to the property and the gardens enlarged with specimens and cuttings from neighbors. Plants were "rescued from the bulldozer" as surrounding estates were broken up for redevelopment. Springtime bloom is considered the peak season although the gardens continue to thrive all year, with winter jasmine planted along steps to the pool. There is good drainage and glacial till soil although the property slopes in three directions. His and her greenhouses were added to the house for orchids, seed propagation, and plant storage in winter. A glass garden room built over a terrace has a small pond with a bubbling fountain and many potted plants making a year-round garden within the house. An English oak planted at the top of the driveway was grown from an acorn imported from a family estate. Dogwood declined due to extreme acidity while 30-foot-tall American chestnut were lost to the chestnut blight. Currently deer predation is a problem despite the addition of a seven-foot fence. Persons associated with the garden's design: Jane Webel, Landscape Architect (1964); Jan Pratt, horticulturist and gardener.