What do Monticello, Mount Vernon and the Jay Estate have in common? They are each being mindfully reimagined by the award-winning landscape architecture firm of Nelson Byrd Woltz led by Thomas Woltz. For the Jay Estate, Thomas Woltz and his team, including Mark Strieter and Charlotte Barrows, created a dynamic plan that underscores the cultural history of this site at a time when discussions of the relationship of race and land and public access to fresh air and green space are long overdue.

"These landscapes remind us that history is never static, telling the stories of the nation's founders while revealing the lives of Indigenous peoples, enslaved comunities, immigrants, laborers and countless others whose contributions have shaped America across generations. Through thoughtful collaboration and design, these landscapes continue to reveal new perspectives, welcome new audiences, and connect us to the many stories that have shaped America... and continue to inform its future." - NBW

All three projects are positioned to tell our whole shared history to a broader demographic of visitors. There are access points for everyone.

Overlooking Long Island Sound, the 23-acre Jay Estate was once the land of the Lenape before it became the family seat of nation-maker John Jay, who helped abolish slavery in New York State. Today the award-winning Jay Estate is a home for ideas, civil dialogue, and action about social and environmental justice and much more. Operated by the nonprofit Jay Heritage Center (JHC) for the benefit of the public, the land—particularly its stunning viewshed—gives context to the stories of its diverse inhabitants and stewards going back thousands of years.

While the gardens date back to the 1700s or earlier, the revitalized space is not a “period” recreation but rather a richly interpreted rehabilitation. Lost visual and spatial relationships are reestablished. Three existing stone-walled rooms contain largely native and drought-resistant species in response to climate change. The innovative schematics include a picturesque parterre; an outdoor classroom and hands-on planting area with 16 rotating vegetable beds; a reflecting pool and sensory garden; and a 100-foot-long rose arbor and pollinator pathway. “As landscape architects, we have always known the importance of public space,” said Woltz. “And right now, the opportunity to breathe new life into an outdoor space of this historic importance feels that much more essential.”

Preservation of critical built heritage features illuminate the daily lives of the varied inhabitants, including the Valentine Family - enslaved and freed women and men of African descent known to have lived, worked, and been buried at the Jay property. Protecting the site’s natural heritage is of paramount importance, too. The gardens increase biodiversity by replacing invasive species like mugwort, Japanese knotweed and porcelain berry with beneficial native shrubs and plants like red twig dogwood, arrowwood viburnum and American pillar rose to name just a few.

Based on years of consensus building with the community, the gardens have won numerous awards from NY State Parks, the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA) and the Garden Club of America.

Come see the "Versailles of Rye" on Thursdays from 10am - 2pm and Sundays from 10am - 5pm. Parking and Admission are both free. Learn more about programs in the gardens at jayheritagecenter.org

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