June 5, 2026
Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
With great pride I announce that Untermyer Gardens is the recipient of the Jean and John Greene Prize for Excellence in American Gardening. It is the most prestigious award given by the Garden Conservancy, the nation’s preeminent organization dedicated to the preservation of significant American gardens. The $45,000 grant will support the development of the Color Gardens, the last of Samuel Untermyer’s gardens to be restored. We are delighted to join an elite group of four other gardens that have been awarded the annual Greene Prize. Below is a rendering created by Patrick Suarez of Ferguson & Shamamian of what the restored gardens will look like.
Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
With great pride I announce that Untermyer Gardens is the recipient of the Jean and John Greene Prize for Excellence in American Gardening. It is the most prestigious award given by the Garden Conservancy, the nation’s preeminent organization dedicated to the preservation of significant American gardens. The $45,000 grant will support the development of the Color Gardens, the last of Samuel Untermyer’s gardens to be restored. We are delighted to join an elite group of four other gardens that have been awarded the annual Greene Prize. Below is a rendering created by Patrick Suarez of Ferguson & Shamamian of what the restored gardens will look like.
Untermyer has quite a fine collection of Japanese maples, which are now beginning to develop a more mature and elegant shape. In the spring, their color can assume an especially delicate blush or hue, and they merit close observation. Wander around the Temple of Love and the Rock and Stream Garden and feast your eyes. The rocky landscape provides an especially picturesque setting for these special trees.
Out of the blue, we got wind of a fine article online about our developing Stumpery written by a neighbor in Hastings, Jim Nolan.Independently, he seemed to really appreciate what we are trying to accomplish. We are about halfway through the development of this garden, with masses of herbaceous plants to be placed in the ground during the next two years, but this gives an excellent sense of where we are headed. Here is a picture of Timothy Tilghman with Kevin Cotter, who is helping to construct the “wet cairns” at the Stumpery.
The Ornamental Vegetable Garden has just experienced the peak of its first crop, which consisted mainly of leafy vegetables: lettuce, cabbage, Swiss chard, kale, and kohlrabi. Our first cohort of Yonkers public high school students has now completed its session, which culminated in the harvest of these vegetables and their distribution to local food banks. The second rotation of interns began this week and will start the cycle with another planting.
The next concert in our Minnie Untermyer series will take place on Saturday, June 20. Returning for their sixth consecutive year, Tom Gold Dance will perform “Mad About the Boy,” which was inspired by Robert Altman’s satirical masterpiece, Gosford Park. The dancers will be accompanied by a vocalist and a pianist performing sophisticated songs by Ivor Novello, Cole Porter, and Noel Coward. It’s a perfect summer delight!
Kind regards,
SFB
SFB
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