The Gardens

Allerton’s 14 Formal Gardens feature extensive plantings and over 100 ornaments and sculptures that Robert Allerton collected from his travels around the world. As you stroll through the divided ‘rooms’, bordered by pruned hedges and long allees with statues as focal points, let yourself be transported from daily life and find peace in the balance of natural and man-made beauty.

The Gardens were designed by landscape architects John Borie and John Gregg Allerton in the Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles of architecture, with a focus on symmetry and balance. Under the direction of Robert, the Gardens were created between 1905 and the mid-1930s, during the American Country Place Era (1890-1930), a period when wealthy Americans began creating grand rural estates with European-style gardens, reflecting both their affluence and a desire to escape urban life.

“He created a picture in the garden. Yes, he painted with vegetation instead of oil and canvas.”
—John Gregg Allerton

Visitors are encouraged to visit the gardens throughout the year and observe how they transform through the seasons. Many can be enjoyed via an accessible path, stretching roughly three-quarters of a mile from the Brick Wall Garden to the Sunken Garden. Benches are available sporadically along the path, and bathrooms can be accessed during the day at the centrally-located Visitor Center, Greenhouse, or Gatehouse Lawn.

We encourage multiple trips to fully take in all the gardens have to offer, but to see all of them in one day, we recommend visitors set aside roughly one hour.