#21 Wave Hill (4/8/12)

"The original Wave Hill House was a gray fieldstone mansion built in 1843 by lawyer William Lewis Morris. It was owned from 1866 to 1903 by publisher William Henry Appleton, who enlarged the house in between 1866 and 1869 and again in 1890, and added greenhouses and gardens to the grounds. During these years, the house was visited by Thomas Henry Huxley, who helped Charles Darwin bring evolution to the public's attention. Theodore Roosevelt's family rented Wave Hill during the summers of 1870 and 1871, and Mark Twain leased it from 1901 to 1903. The house was purchased in 1903 by George Walbridge Perkins, a partner of J. P. Morgan... In 1960, at the suggestion of Robert Moses, the Perkins-Freeman family deeded Wave Hill to the City of New York. In 1983 the estate was added to the roster of the National Register of Historic Places" (Wikipedia).

And I LOVED it!! One of my favorite adventures in New York. One that totally didn't feel like New York... it was the perfect stay-cation get away and I hope to go back often.

Chinese redbuds- my favorite tree this time of year and I finally learned that they are called thanks to Wave Hill.

The Pergola Overlook, Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades.

Orchids inside the Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory

More inside the conservatory

Wave Hill House, which is currently under construction, so I'll just have to come back when it reopens :)

The top of the Ecology Building (yes that is a rooftop) with the Hudson River and the Palisades.

Tulips

A giant carpenter bee that apparently does not sting but ruins the wood from the terraces.

Stopping to smell the magnolias.

In the "Wild Garden"

Glyndor House

A perfect hill for rolling down! I didn't because I hope to return (and I was wearing a skirt, LOL)

Want to visit yourself? Wave Hill Target Free Days Saturdays Free 9am to noon year-round Tuesdays Free all day November–April, July, August Free 9am to noon May, June, September, October