Tour a Japanese-Inspired Garden in Millbrook
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1/11Photographs by Mick HalesInnisfree, a 185-acre garden in Millbrook, New York, is the crowning achievement of landscape architect Lester Collins, who worked on the project from 1938 until his death, in 1993. Before it opened to the public, in 1960, Innisfree was owned by Walter Beck, an artist and teacher, and his wife, Marion Burt Beck, who bought the property in the mid-1920s. The weeping willow pictured here has been pruned to hang like an umbrella over Tyrrel Lake.Photographs by Mick HalesInnisfree, a 185-acre garden in Millbrook, New York, is the crowning achievement of landscape architect Lester Collins, who worked on the project from 1938 until his death, in 1993. Before it opened to the public, in 1960, Innisfree was owned by Walter Beck, an artist and teacher, and his wife, Marion Burt Beck, who bought the property in the mid-1920s. The weeping willow pictured here has been pruned to hang like an umbrella over Tyrrel Lake.
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2/11Photographs by Mick HalesBorrowing heavily from Japanese and Chinese gardening traditions, Innisfree features large rocks throughout the property, specifically placed according to Walter Beck’s instructions.Photographs by Mick HalesBorrowing heavily from Japanese and Chinese gardening traditions, Innisfree features large rocks throughout the property, specifically placed according to Walter Beck’s instructions.
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3/11Photographs by Mick HalesAn 11-foot-tall wooden water sculpture sprays a mixture of rain, spring, and lake water.Photographs by Mick HalesAn 11-foot-tall wooden water sculpture sprays a mixture of rain, spring, and lake water.
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4/11Photographs by Mick HalesA cluster of Bradford pear trees.
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5/11Photographs by Mick HalesA dawn redwood shades the path near the garden’s entrance.
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6/11Photographs by Mick HalesSlow-growing weeping spruce and a weeping Japanese red-leaf maple punctuate the Middle Terrace.Photographs by Mick HalesSlow-growing weeping spruce and a weeping Japanese red-leaf maple punctuate the Middle Terrace.
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7/11Photographs by Mick HalesA cluster of Siberian irises.
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8/11Photographs by Mick HalesDark- and light-pink Japanese primroses.
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9/11Photographs by Mick HalesDogwoods in bloom beyond.
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10/11Photographs by Mick HalesThe Yarimizu stream, devised by Collins, features an oxbow design.
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11/11Photographs by Mick HalesWeeping willows on the shore of Tyrrel Lake nearly meet the bubbling water, the result of a man-made spring.Photographs by Mick HalesWeeping willows on the shore of Tyrrel Lake nearly meet the bubbling water, the result of a man-made spring.
This article appears in the November 2016 issue of NYC&G (New York Cottages & Gardens).
