If you're planning to be in or near Westchester County, New York this summer, try to visit Lyndhurst, a magnificent Gothic Revival country estate and National Historic Landmark located on 67 sprawling acres beside the Hudson River in Tarrytown.
Lyndhurst, which is also known as the Jay Gould estate, was owned and shaped by three prominent area families - The Pauldings, The Merritts, and lastly, by railroad tycoon and financier, Jay Gould. Purchased in 1880, Jay occupied the home until his death in 1892. In 1961, his daughter Anna Gould donated it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The estate features 16 elaborately decorated rooms - many lovingly restored and including original furniture left in the home. The surrounding park is an outstanding example of 19th-century landscape design with expansive lawns, specimen tree groves, and curved carriage roads. The property also includes a children's cottage, a bowling alley, a laundry building, a pool house, and the exterior of what was once considered the largest private greenhouse complex in the country.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The mansion was designed in 1838 by architect Alexander Jackson Davis in a romantic Gothic Revival style. The original structure was doubled in size between 1864 and 1867 to what is seen today.
Lyndhurst is situated beside the Hudson River about a half mile south of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, formerly known as the Tappan Zee Bridge. On a clear day, one can see New York City.
The property boasts some beautiful mature trees – some planted in groves and stands and some singly.
The main house has a soaring two-floor Art Gallery, which was once also used as a library and billiards room. Today, the room is filled with 19th century academic paintings along with Tiffany glass windows and other period furnishings designed by Davis.
On the first floor are several sitting areas and parlors – all meticulously maintained.
The Dining Room at Lyndhurst still contains the original Gothic Revival dining table and chairs designed by Alexander Jackson Davis for the Merrit Family in 1865.
This is one of the bed chambers in the home. It includes a very ornate period bed.
The family bathrooms were large in its day with marble sink counters and claw foot tubs.
This beautiful spiral wood back staircase takes visitors up to the fifth floor tower where one can see panoramic views of the Hudson River and New York City as well as all the way down to the basement kitchen.
Here is the main kitchen – still decorated with many of the 19th century cooking elements, tools and supplies. This room had great light and ample space.
This is the large stove behind the kitchen table.
Staff would gather and eat at this table – it was a dream to work in a kitchen like this one in its time.
Various tables are filled with types of items possibly used during that era.
Just outside the kitchen is where pickling and preserving was done.
And across the carriage road is the Laundry Building, where the housekeeping staff would wash, iron and mend cloth items.
This wall is lined with large, deep sinks for washing delicates.
The servants’ rooms were also rather spacious. This one was likely occupied by the head of staff – it includes a bed, a small sitting area and a private bathroom.
And not far from the main house is the Bowling Alley, one of the earliest bowling lanes in the United States. Anna Gould used the bowling alley for visiting soldiers during World War II. Although the structure fell into disrepair in the 1950s, it was restored and opened for public tours. The building was also used as a school where local women could learn sewing and other skills.
Here is the children’s playhouse, the Rose Cottage. It is nestled beneath the shade of mature trees just steps from the main house.
Inside there was full sized furniture where the children could rest after playing in the warm summer sun.
Here is the cottage from afar. The entire Lyndhurst estate is a wonderful and picturesque escape from the busy city – still as beautiful now as it was in the 1800s. Please visit the next time you are in the area. You can learn more about Lyndhurst on their web site at lyndhurst.org.
Business gatherings are always so much more enjoyable when accompanied by a delicious homemade meal.
Yesterday, I hosted a luncheon at my home for a small group of nine. My friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events, and I, collaborated on a delicious menu that included two garden salads - one with young lettuces and one with kale, sultana raisins, and pistachios - both using fresh greens from my garden. I also served tomato tart, onion tart, and a chilled broccoli soup with broccoli just cut the previous day. For dessert we enjoyed vanilla panna cotta with strawberries, also grown right here at my farm. It was an excellent lunch and a most productive and interesting meeting.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The day was perfect for serving lunch outdoors under my pavilion. The weather was 75-degrees Fahrenheit with cool gentle breezes. I did the honors of serving my guests.
My pavilion is located just off the carriage road outside my pool. In 2021, after cutting down a large yew tree at my former East Hampton home, I decided the lumber would make a nice table. It has since become a favorite spot for warm weather entertaining.
These beautiful light colored roses were cut from my gardens. If you saw my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen other arrangements, large and small, decorating my Winter House.
Under the roof all around the edge of the pavilion, I hung several giant staghorn ferns. They are all planted in baskets and hung with very heavy, strong wire.
Each staghorn fern has antler-like foliage as well as flat, basal leaves. The flat leaves are infertile and turn brown and papery with age. They overlap onto a mounting surface and provide stability for the fern.
Depending on the fern variety, the foliar fronds may droop or be erect. These leaves resemble the horns of a large herbivore.
Enma set the table for nine using a spring green colored table setting.
Along with the roses, I decorated the table with potted Eucomis – a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Africa.
One may recognize the plant by its flowers. Most species of this genus are commonly referred to as pineapple flowers or pineapple lilies. I’ve had these for years – they thrive in my greenhouse.
Here is our table – all set for lunch after a productive and informative meeting.
This is chilled broccoli soup made using broccoli just cut from my new half-acre garden the day before. My garden is producing the most wonderful vegetables.
I also offered two fresh and organic salads. This lettuce salad is made with young lettuces, also from my garden, dressed with a light vinaigrette.
This salad is made with kale, pistachios, and sultana raisins, which are small, seedless, dried white grapes that are sweet, juicy, and golden in color.
Our lunch was accompanied by a refreshing fruit iced tea. Enma makes each pitcher a little different depending on the fruits we have on hand.
Our main course – tomato and onion tarts.
Have you ever had a tomato tart? These savory, rich, vegetarian tarts are just right for brunch, lunch, or dinner.
Here’s another in a long rectangular shape. Tomato tarts are made using juicy slices of tomato layered with grated cheese in a pâte brisée pastry crust.
I also served this flavorful onion tart.
My guests could not resist having pieces of both – some even went back for seconds.
And for dessert – light and delicate vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberries. Panna cotta means “cooked cream” in Italian and is made using sweetened cream thickened with gelatin. A wonderful lunch gathering and “meeting of the minds” – it’s a good thing.
Tours through my gardens are different every time - there's always something new to see.
Yesterday, I opened my gardens for a private showing to The Garden Club of America. The tour was part of their "On the Road" trip to Bedford, New York. 30 guests from various states across the country attended. Whenever I can, I always enjoy leading the walks through the gardens to see what is blooming and growing at the time, to share the farm's history, and to discuss how I care for all the many plantings. It was a lovely late spring morning and a very enjoyable garden tour.
Enjoy these photos.
My perennial flower garden is among the first stops along the walk – so many poppies are blooming, along with the roses, various irises, and Canterbury Bells.
The group arrived mid morning. Mine was the first of three tours the group was scheduled to see this day. Before the tour, I welcome everyone to Cantitoe Corners and talked about what we would see along the guided walk.
My Chow Chows made a quick appearance. Everyone loves to meet Emperor Han and Empress Qin.
I showed them the roses growing along the fence. These climbers and many others were transplanted from Lily Pond, my former home in East Hampton.
In the garden, there are gorgeous poppies blooming everywhere – those papery, tissue-like blossoms that look stunning both in the garden and in the vase.
The name “poppy” refers to a large number of species in at least 12 different genera in the subfamily Papaveroideae, which is within the plant family Papaveraceae. They produce open single flowers gracefully located on long thin stems, sometimes fluffy with many petals and sometimes smooth.
Papaver grows mainly in the northern hemisphere, including within the Arctic Circle, with one species found in southern Africa.
The plants typically grow to about two feet in height forming colorful flowers during spring and into summer.
Also open are the Canterbury Bells – these bell-shaped white, pink, blue, or purple flowers bloom in the early spring through midsummer.
And look at the colorful bold purple irises. Purple Dutch irises, also known as Iris hollandica, typically bloom in late spring to early summer.
Along the footpath, airy sprays of yellow flowers on the Lady’s Mantle, Alchemilla mollis.
I walked the group through the berry gardens to see the currant bushes laden with fruits.
Just outside the flower garden, the group saw the tall bald cypress trees across from my pergola. These trees were just a few feet tall when I first planted them.
All my potted tropical plants are now displayed all around the farm. I told the group this is one of many sago palms I grew from cut “pups” off a parent plant. It’s grown beautifully over the years.
I also grew these boxwood shrubs from bare root cuttings that were nurtured in a bed before being transplanted to this pergola border.
Over a section of my pergola are the climbing vines of my beautiful Rosa ‘Veilchenblau’ – the violet rambler also known as ‘Bleu-Violet’, ‘Blue Rambler’, ‘Blue Rosalie’ and ‘Violet Blue’ that bloom from May to June.
From the carriage road, one can see the abundance of pretty blooms – my guests loved to stop, take photos, and “smell the roses.”
I walked the group through the vegetable garden. They admired the growing brassicas. Everything is doing so well.
Here is one of my Savoy cabbages – so perfectly shaped. Savoy cabbage is a versatile cabbage, similar to green cabbage but a bit milder and sweeter, with leaves that are looser and more ruffled.
Kale, also called leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage cultivars primarily grown for their edible leaves – these leaves are amazing and so delicious.
I pointed out all the growing broccoli heads. There are so many ready to pick.
And the group loved the tomatoes. I planted 120 tomato plants under these bamboo supports.
The tour met my Friesians. Hylke loves to greet visitors – he is always hopeful for a treat.
And before leaving, the group walked by the pool and learned about the staddle stones, which were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version. It was a fun tour with a very fun, enthusiastic, and curious group of gardeners.
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