Bluebell, daffodil, hellebore and primrose. These are just a few of the flowers you’ll find this spring at Old Westbury Gardens, which reopens on Thursday.
Typically opening each spring in early April, Old Westbury Gardens didn’t open until July last year due to COVID-19, notes Nancy Costopulos, president and CEO of the 200-acre facility, which includes Westbury House, the historic estate of business owner John Shaffer Phipps. “So, we are very excited to be opening on schedule,” she says.
For the time being, only the sprawling grounds — formal gardens, woodlands, ponds and lakes — will be open to the public, as the Westbury House is undergoing construction and slated for a June reopening.
Programming at Old Westbury Gardens kicks off with a 7 p.m. concert on May 22 featuring Just We Three performing works of Bach, Mozart and Durufle, part of the Poetica Musica Concert series. The second concert in the series will be held on the following Saturday, June 5, with Serenade of Strings performing pieces by Dvorak and Borodin.
Tickets for both concerts, to be held in the Barn area which can accommodate up to 50 people, are available in advance and, in the event of rain, held the next day at 7 p.m., says Paul Hunchak, director of visitor services and public programs for the Gardens.
“All events will be held outdoors, with social distancing and everything following state protocols,” says Hunchak.
June 11 to 13 marks “Garden Days” weekend, a new initiative at the Gardens, where vendors from around the Northeast area offer an eclectic mix of horticultural wares.
“They’re really high-quality garden curiosities, and rare plants, and all of that,” says Costopulos. “It’s going to be very distinctive, something you can’t just find anywhere else in the nurseries around.”
On Saturday, June 12, noted lamp designer Christopher Spitzmiller will be on hand to sign his new book, “A Year at Clove Brook Farm: Gardening, Tending Flocks, Keeping Bees, Collecting Antiques, and Entertaining Friends,” and on Sunday, June 13, there’ll be garden tours of private homes in Old Westbury and Locust Valley.
“June is one of the most beautiful times for Old Westbury Gardens and for beautiful gardens in our area, too. It’s a perfect time for us to offer these garden tours,” says Costopulos.
The Great Pine Railway exhibit, opening on June 19 (and running through Sept. 6), will be held in the Pinetum (evergreen garden) and includes a replica of Westbury House and other historic properties.
“It’s very natural looking and a G-scale train is a pretty good size and people will be able to get fairly close to it,” says Costopulos, noting that it’s a great thing for families to do outside together.
And, attention canine lovers: on-leash dogs are permitted at the Gardens over the first three weekends in April.
“And, people love coming to Old Westbury Gardens with their dogs,” says Costopulos.
INFO: Old Westbury Gardens: 71 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury; 516-333-0048, oldwestburygardens.org. Open: Monday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: $14; $12 for students and seniors; $8 for children 7-17: Free for children 6 and under. Tickets for Poetica Musica concerts: $25; $20 for students and seniors.
