Ginkgo, or Chinese maidenhair-tree.
Gardener’s Cottage and Tool House.
These two buildings, located south of the mansion, are the only structures on the estate that antedate the Vanderbilt era. Walter Langdon had them built in 1875 according to the design of John H. Sturgis and Charles Brigham, architects of Boston, Mass. Neither building is open to the public.
The Italian Gardens.
These gardens, which lay south of the mansion, may possibly date back as far as Dr. Samuel Bard’s era in 1795. They certainly existed in 1830 as a part of Dr. David Hosack’s estate, and the later owner, Walter Langdon, continued to maintain them. Landscape architect James L. Greenleaf radically revised and enlarged the gardens in 1902-3 for Frederick Vanderbilt.
The gardens thus represent several periods of development. They were divided into three units: The greenhouse gardens, the cherry walk and pool gardens, and the rose garden. The first of these consisted of three separate parterre gardens within a rectangle framed on the west by the rose and palm houses and on the north by the toolhouse, carnation house, and gardener’s cottage. The cherry walk and pool gardens were located east of this group at a lower level, and progressed from the pergola to the garden house. The rose garden, still further east, had two terraces and contained panel beds.
North Drive and North (Exit) Gate.
The land north of the pavilion was added to the estate in 1905. From the north drive are unsurpassed views of the Hudson, the Shawangunk Range to the west, and the Catskill Mountains to the north. The north gate was erected in 1906. Directly opposite, on the east side of the Albany Post Road, are the Vanderbilt barns, built in 1901. This part of the estate is now in private ownership.