Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, which includes the Coe Hall Historic House Museum, is an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

and state park covering over located in the village of Upper Brookville in the town of

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns that make up Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is ...

. Near the end of America's

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

, the estate named Planting Fields was the home of

William Robertson Coe William Robertson Coe (June 8, 1869 – March 14, 1955) was an insurance, railroad and business executive, a major owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses, as well as a collector of Americana and an important philanthropist for the academic di ...

, an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

executive, and his wife Mary "Mai" Huttleston (née Rogers) Coe, the youngest daughter of

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

Henry H. Rogers Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...

, who had been a principal of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

. It includes the 67-room Coe Hall, greenhouses, gardens, woodland paths, and outstanding plant collections. Its grounds were designed by

Guy Lowell Guy Lowell (August 6, 1870 – February 4, 1927), was an American architect and landscape architect. Biography Born in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, Lowell was the son of Mary Walcott (Goodrich) and Edward Jackson Lowell, and a member of B ...

, A. R. Sargent, the

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

, and others. Planting Fields also features an

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

of over 10,000 pressed specimens. The name "Planting Fields" comes from the

Matinecock Matinecock is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 810 at the 2010 census. History Matinecock incorporated as a village on April 2, 1928, in order t ...

Indians who cultivated the rich soil in the clearings high above

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

History

The history of the present-day property on the famous "Gold Coast" of Long Island began between 1904 and 1912, when

Helen MacGregor Byrne Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, G ...

– wife of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

lawyer James Byrne – purchased six farming properties which she collectively referred to as "Upper Planting Fields Farm". The Byrnes hired landscape architect

James Leal Greenleaf James Leal Greenleaf (July 30, 1857 – April 15, 1933) was an American landscape architect and civil engineer. Early in his career, he was a well-known landscape architect who designed the gardens and grounds of many large estates in Connec ...

between 1904 and 1910 to create hedges, perennial borders, and

espalier Espalier ( or ) is the horticulture, horticultural and ancient Agriculture, agricultural practice of controlling woody plant growth for the production of fruit, by pruning and tying branches to a frame. Plants are frequently shaped in formal patt ...

ed fruit trees. Though notable features from this period are the Rose Arbor, the Circular Pool and the Green Garden Court, Coe recalled in later life, "Mrs Byrne had done very little in the shape of landscaping. She had a small lawn around the ridge of the residence" and next to it a cornfield. Most of the property, Coe recalled, was "just a jungle of scrub,

locusts Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a Swarm behaviour, swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circu ...

, and other trees". In 1913,

purchased the house and estate, and began today's plantings and landscaping under the guidance of the Boston landscaping firm of

and A. Robeson Sargent, son of Charles Sargent, founder of the

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum is a botanical research institution and free public park affiliated with Harvard University and located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, Massachusetts, Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston. Established in 1872, it is the ...

. In 1915, Lowell and Sargent oversaw transport of two gigantic

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

es from

Fairhaven, Massachusetts Fairhaven (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzz ...

, the childhood home of Mary "Mai" Huttleston (née Rogers) Coe (who was the daughter of

). The trees, with root balls in diameter, were ferried across Long Island Sound in mid-winter. Roads were widened and utility wires temporarily removed to make way. Only one of the two trees survived the journey. Unfortunately, the second beech tree has recently died, and was taken down in February 2006. However, the “Fairhaven Beech” will live on: seedlings were collected from the tree from 2000 to 2005. Massive purchases of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

s were made in England, Japanese crabapples and cherries, and forest and specimen trees, lindens, Scotch and red pines, oaks. Through the English nurseryman Glomar Waterer, who had sold Mr Coe the rhododendrons, came an offer in 1916 of an unusually fine collection of

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...

s located in

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, for which the Camellia House was constructed by "Bobo" Sargent in autumn 1917, and filled with the plants grown in tubs that were shipped the following spring. Most of them were selected varieties of ''

Camellia japonica ''Camellia japonica'', known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of Camellia, a flowering plant genus in the family Theaceae. There are thousands of cultivars of ''C. japonica'' in cultivation, with many colors and forms of flo ...

'' but there were six ''

Camellia reticulata ''Camellia reticulata'' (syn. ''C. heterophylla'')
is a

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

style and faced in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. It was designed by the firm of Walker & Gillette and was completed in 1921. Images from a book of

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

s inspired its architecture, especially those of

Moyns Park Moyns Park is a Grade I Listed building, listed English country house, country house in Steeple Bumpstead, Essex. History The home of the Gent family, until the late 19th century, was once owned by Major-General Cecil Robert St John Ives, m ...

Athelhampton Athelhampton (also known as Admiston or Adminston) is a settlement in the civil parish of Athelhampton and Puddletown, in Dorset, England, situated approximately east of Dorchester. It consists of a manor house and a former Church of England p ...

, and St. Catherine's Court. William and Mai Coe's interest in rare species of trees and plant collections made the estate a botanical marvel. Mai, who was chronically ill for the last decade of her life, died on December 28, 1924, at the age of forty-nine and is buried nearby. The estate was deeded to the

state of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

in 1949 (during Mr. Coe's lifetime) to become a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

The main gardens

Sargent created The Italian Blue Pool Garden between 1914 and 1918, with the Tea House built in 1915 to designs by Guy Lowell. Historically this garden was planted with spring-blooming perennials such as

delphinium ''Delphinium'' is a genus of about 300 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the family (biology), family Ranunculaceae, native species, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. T ...

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

es,

peonies The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguishe ...

, and

poppies Poppies can refer to: *Poppy, a flowering plant *The Poppies (disambiguation) - multiple uses *''Poppies (film)'' - Children's BBC remembrance animation *Poppies (Mary Oliver poem), ''Poppies'' (poem) - a poem by Mary Oliver *"Poppies", a song by P ...

. It is currently being restored to this original form. After the unexpected death of A.R. Sargent in 1918, the Coes appointed the

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, with James Frederick Dawson as chief landscape architect, who brought their signature "naturalistic" look to the north side of the property. They completed additions to the Main Greenhouse and Camellia Greenhouse, as well as the Beech Copse, Main Lawn, West Lawn and Heather Garden. The Green Garden features a circular pool. Nearby Azalea Walks and Vista Path show hundreds of varieties of

azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

and

. The Rose Arbor and Rose Garden contain over 680 Tea, shrub, and miniature

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s. The Synoptic Garden displays over 500 types of tree and shrub, arranged in alphabetical order by botanical name. The Magnolia Collection contains over 80 types of deciduous and evergreen agnolia. The Rhododendron Collection shows over 1,000 types of azalea and rhododendron. The Camellia Greenhouse ( Lowell & Sargent, 1917; revised and extended by

, 1917–1922) was built specifically to house the

collection, originally of 114 full-grown plants; currently the collection consists of over 300 plants. It was James F. Dawson's idea to sink the tubs directly in the ground, rather than trundle them out seasonally, the usual procedure for camellias grown in greenhouses. The Main Greenhouse (Lowell & Sargent/Olmsted Brothers) was constructed between 1914 and 1929, with a Hibiscus House added in 1929 for the Coes'

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...

collection. Today, the Main Greenhouse offers large collections of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

s, houseplants,

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s and

begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ...

s, as well as seasonal displays of

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

poinsettia The poinsettia (; ''Euphorbia pulcherrima'') is a commercially important flowering plant species of the diverse spurge family Euphorbiaceae. Indigenous to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia was first described by Europeans in 1834. It ...

hydrangea ''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of Flowering plant, flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly ''Hydrangea macrophylla, H. m ...

coleus ''Coleus'' (, ) is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Afro-Eurasia tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', '' Solenoste ...

, etc. The North Border features the holly collection, Dwarf Conifer Garden, Conifer Trail, Heather Garden, and Species Rhododendron. The

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

collection includes over 100 different types of evergreen hollies such as English, American, Asian and hybrid forms. The Dwarf

Conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

Garden features dozens of varieties of

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

Chamaecyparis ''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related cypresses), is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia (Japan and Taiwan) and to the western and eastern margins o ...

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, etc. The nearby full-scale conifers can reach over tall, and include sequoia,

metasequoia ''Metasequoia'', or dawn redwood, is a genus of fast-growing coniferous trees. It contains one extant (living) species, ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', which is one of three extant species of conifers known as redwoods in the world. ''Metaseq ...

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

and pine, with a large assortment of Rhododendron species under the canopy. The Heather Garden features low growing

heaths A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and

heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1988 American teen dark comedy crime film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, K ...

, as well as rhododendron, azalea, and other flowering plants. The Dahlia Garden offers several hundred varieties of show-quality

dahlia ''Dahlia'' ( , ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. Dahlias are members of the Asteraceae (synonym name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sun ...

s. Finally, there are over of woodland at Planting Fields, with miles of walking trails through the woods. Before some recent losses the Long Island Horticultural Society reported that eighteen of the trees at Planting Fields were the largest of their species on Long Island.Allen 1984:24.

College campus period

During an interim period between 1955 and 1964, in addition to its role as Planting Fields Arboretum, a park, the land was used as a temporary campus for a

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

(SUNY) college of science and engineering, which was known as the State University College on Long Island at Oyster Bay (SUCOLI) while donated land in

Stony Brook, NY Stony Brook is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. Begun in the colonial era as an agricultural enclave, the hamlet experienced gro ...

was being developed into the new permanent campus. In 1962

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

moved to its new home, and transitioned for a two-year period between the campuses. At first all activities were located inside Coe Hall, but as the college grew, dormitories were moved to the stables and temporary dome structures were erected on the grounds for classes and laboratories. Subsequent to Stony Brook University moving to its permanent campus in Suffolk County, the site became home to another SUNY endeavor, the Center for

International studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and World Affairs ("ISWA"). When this SUNY undertaking was shut down in 1968, all facilities and grounds became the current day Planting Fields.

Planting Fields today

Today it is owned and operated by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation in cooperation with Planting Fields Foundation, with its world-renowned

and the Coe Hall mansion, is a popular attraction. The wrought-iron gates, built in

Sussex, England Sussex ( /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom and, later, a county. It includes the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and We ...

in 1712 for

Carshalton Park Carshalton Park is a public park in Carshalton, in the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south of the High Street, in the area bounded by Ruskin Road, Ashcombe Road, Woodstock Road and The Park. Carshalton Park and some of the surrounding ...

, were imported by Coe in 1921 and have been used as a setting for numerous

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

s. While the park entirely lies within Upper Brookville, the parcel of the park in which the famous Carshalton Park gates are located is in the Village of

. Therefore, Oyster Bay Post Office which serves this area of Upper Brookville is displayed as the official USPS mailing address. Planting Fields Arboretum was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. an
''Accompanying seven photos, from 1978''
/ref>

References

External links