But it was the gardens that particularly caught my eye. The grounds feature: a Butterfly Garden, a Japanese Garden (complete with tea house), a Roman Bath (sorry no Romans), a Pinetum to the Temple of Diana (a collection of Conifer trees), a SubRosa or "Secret" Garden, a Rose Garden, an Italian Garden, a Blue & White Garden, a Pansy Garden, a Moonlight Garden (which is filled with fragrant, white, night blooming flowers), an old Fashioned Garden, and a Rock Garden. There also was the Peacock House, and the South Lawn. It is interesting to note that while she was alive Mrs. Thompson had the Boston landscape architect Ernest Bowditch re-design the estate several times, which caused the gardens to be moved to different locations.
I will attempt to describe some of the gardens but not all, as I want to leave some for your personal exploration, if you ever get to this part of the country.
The Japanese Garden and Tea House. What began as a one-acre apple orchard, was
sculpted into an authentic Japanese garden within a 6 month period in 1906 by a crew of 7-8 laborers from Japan under the supervision of K. Wadakmori, an artist from New York who designed the garden. The land was transformed from a lawn with a gentle slope to an area with pools, hills and brooks that wind through the garden. the hills were created by recycling the soil that was removed to create the pools. The Tea House was built in 1908 by the same crew as the garden. It is authentic in design, modeled on a teahouse in Kyoto, Japan. During Mrs. Thompson's time at Sonnenberg the Tea House served as a gathering place for her guests and a playhouse for the children who visited. The garden was once described in the following words, "The vale of paradise cannot be to mortal eye and brain any more perfect, or one degree more exquisitely beautiful, then Sonnenberg's Japanese Garden in July, 1916." William T. Hortaday. "Masterpieces in Garden-Making" The goal today is to return the garden to some of its former splendor.
The Rock Garden as we see it today is actually the combination of 3 gardens; a "wild" garden, a lily (water-lily) garden and a rock garden. The woodsy, naturalistic feel of the site was retained in the design and served as an excellent background to the waterways, stony banks and turf. The stone used in the canyon area is Onondaga Limestone, a conglomerate rock filled with pockets ideal for alpine plantings. Mrs. Thompson and her garden designer John Handrahan planned these gardens to have many different micro-climates such as the bright sunny slopes near the ponds, the deep shade canyon, and the forest glade in the back of the garden. Originally the small alcove in the stone canyon was also a bog garden. A wide variety of plants were chosen to provide a continual season of bloom. One plan from 1916, lists 191 different plants for this garden, including alpine plants, ferns, bulbs, wildflowers and various shrubs and trees. Today this garden still provides colorful blooms throughout the year, although in spring it breaks forth with an array of early wildflowers and bulbs. From the watch-tower with its Hydrangea handrail, one can look out and see much of the garden, enjoying its wild, natural beauty.
It is fascinating to find people as wealthy as Mr. & Mrs. Thompson, who, while they surrounded themselves with wealth and beauty, still took time to reach out to the people around them and donate so much to the community. We have to stop and think that Sonnenberg was only a "summer home" to them, but they seemed to have felt enough caring for the community to want to help their neighbors.
Again, as I look at the work done by the "Sonnenberg Gardens" organization I think of how grateful I am that there are people in this great nation willing to grab hold of the past in order to preserve it for my generations and for generations yet unborn. Granted we may not have the extensive history that they do in Europe, but from what I've seen we have a great deal in our past to be proud of.
Before leaving the mansion we talked with Pamela Johnson Pollack who is in charge of the restoration of the carriage house. They began construction on it in the fall of 1998. Last year they replaced the cedar shingles and the "Yankee gutters". This year they are renovating the interior to be able to use the building for visitors and also it will house an exhibit of historic carriages and historic photographs of the estate. They will also have a reception room where they will be able to have wedding receptions, meetings, etc. It was obvious when talking with Ms. Pollack that she had a great deal of enthusiasm for, not only her project, but the entire Sonnenberg estate.
From what Bob and I saw on our visit, the mansion and grounds are very lovingly tended by a number of paid and volunteer people, who do a fantastic job at caring for the estate. If you ever get anywhere near Canandaigua, New York, be sure and stop by the Sonnenberg Gardens for your "walk into history".

I hope you've enjoyed our little journey into history,

Good Luck! Have Fun! and Stay Safe!

Laura

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