Untermyer Gardens Conservancy

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UNTERMYER GARDENS

Bringing History Back to LIfe

The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy is a non-profit organization that will facilitate the restoration of Samuel Untermyer’s gardens in Yonkers, New York.

Before his death in 1940, they were among the most celebrated gardens in America. Designed by Welles Bosworth in 1912, the gardens sprawled over 150 acres overlooking the Hudson River, maintained by 60 gardeners and supplied by 60 greenhouses. It was open to the public on a weekly basis during the 1920’s and '30’s. 30,000 people visited it in one day in 1939.

A core part of the gardens was acquired by the City of Yonkers in 1946. In the 1990’s, another parcel was acquired, bringing the total today to around 43 acres. While the core is intact, much of the gardens are in ruin.

With the cooperation of the Yonkers Parks Department and input from Marco Polo Stufano, Founding Director of Horticulture at Wave Hill, Untermyer Gardens will once again dazzle the garden-loving public with its brilliant design.

Funds raised by the Conservancy will be used to augment existing Parks Department personnel at the gardens with a horticultural specialist. Timothy Tilghman has been working full time in the gardens since June, 2011.

In addition, the budget for new plantings has been greatly increased from its previous level. An ambitious program of planting is now underway. The focus for years 2011-2012 will be on the core walled garden area. In the following years, other areas of the gardens and park will be re-imagined.