Garden Spotlight: The Walled Garden at Old Westbury Gardens

Address: 71 Old Westbury Rd, Old Westbury, NY 11568
Website: https://www.oldwestburygardens.org/

Old Westbury Gardens is a treasure in the heart of Nassau County. Inspired by English design, the estate was created by George A. Crawley and completed in 1906. The estate spans 200 acres and feature spaces like the Rose Garden, the Lilac Walk Garden, and the beautifully traditional Wall Garden.  The gardens are home to a variety of rare plants, which are tended to and cared for on-site through the estate's private greenhouse.Old Westbury Gardens has welcomed the public since 1959, offering visitors the chance to experience the estate in its beautifully preserved state.

The Walled Garden, in particular, is one I hadn’t visited in quite some time. I was happy to find the ornate metal gate open on the day I returned to Westbury Gardens.

Overlooking the terrace at the entrance of the Wall Garden. Gorgeous purple and pink flowers set against the green background.

Origins of The Walled Garden

As you step into the garden, you're gently guided by clearly defined paths laid out before you. On either side, stunning flowers stretch out in a mix of textures, colors, and heights. It feels like you're being embraced by blooms from every direction as you move slowly, almost meditatively, trying to take in all the beauty around you.

The Walled Garden is, at its core, just that—an enclosed garden surrounded by walls. Historically, these spaces were used to cleverly grow fruits and vegetables, with the walls providing shelter from harsh weather and keeping hungry animals out. Over time, Walled Gardens also became a symbol of status, since only the privileged could afford the privacy and upkeep they required. This style of garden began gaining popularity among monasteries and manor houses in Europe during the medieval period, and remained common through to the Victorian era.

What’s interesting about the Walled Garden at Westbury Gardens is that it was later refined by the estate’s owner, Margarita Phipps, who had a love for rich, vibrant colors and lush florals. The garden uses a sequential planting method, meaning different flowers bloom throughout the season, keeping the space alive with color. These photos capture the garden in summer, bursting with cone flowers, hibiscuses, and a variety of fragrant blooms.

Something Blue

As you wander deeper into the garden, all paths seem to lead to this stunning teal-blue pergola overlooking a serene lotus pond. The pergola has a rustic charm that feels like a step back in time. Its many cutouts frame different corners and bursts of color throughout the garden. It truly serves as the focal point of the space, drawing both people and plants toward its graceful presence. The blue color definitely stands out—it’s almost like a Tiffany blue, evoking a sense of opulence and wealth. At the same time, it serves as a calm, shaded retreat, offering a peaceful pause away from the vibrant chaos of the surrounding flowers.

I really loved the lotus pond facing the pergola. The lotuses were gracefully spaced out, and the water was still and calm. The reflection of the sky, framed by the hedges and trees, added an extra layer of peace and presence to the whole space. The photo on the left below shows the reflection of the lotus pond as you stand in the center of the pergola. The photo on the right captures the half-circle shape of the pond and how the pergola gracefully follows its curve.

An image featuring the pergola during Season 2 of The Gilded Age.

Fragments of Delight

At the center of the pergola is this statue. I believe it represents something related to mythology, she looks confident and embodied.

An old stone sundial that looks like an ornate vase. There are a lot of sundials located on the property, this one if fairly simplistic in comparison.

Easy to miss this pear tree growing along one of the walls, these are Bartlett pears!

Little nooks are located on each corner near the entrance of the garden. It's a lovely getaway from the heat.

Vibrant Plant Life

The Walled Garden is surrounded by gorgeous plants that cycle through the seasons. When I visited in summer, the flowers were absolutely breathtaking. It felt like organized chaos—an array of shapes, sizes, textures, and colors coming together to create a vibrant, natural mosaic. I appreciated how so many of the flowers included labels. 

This particular moment caught my eye because the pink daylilies look like fairies mid flight.