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The Gold Coast Gatsby Mansions and their gardens attribute a lot to Long Island’s culture. Especially in the Spring & the Summer, the gardens across the island’s most famous mansion estates are blooming and ready for visitors to enjoy their beautiful aesthetic. As you tour through the gardens, get inspired and stop at some of the many well-known garden centers to bring your own beautiful estate-garden ideas home!
When you visit Sands Point Preserve, you can experience the grandeur and luxurious lifestyle of famous historic figures when touring the grounds of the castle-like Hempstead House and Castle Gould, which both have magnificent views of the Long Island Sound. You can also find stunning nature trails and hiking paths across the preserves sprawling 216 acres. When you visit in the Spring, you will see the lovely rose gardens that encompass the yard of the Hempstead House overlooking the water.
Stroll around a gold peaked English-style chateau upon visiting the Phipp’s Estate at Old Westbury Gardens. Not only will you get to tour the grand living quarters of the famous Phipp’s family, but you can explore the numerous gardens across the grounds, including their stunning, brightly curated walled garden. This estate has made many famous cameos in movies as well, such as Cruel Intentions, Hitch, and North by Northwest, so be sure to take pictures in everyone’s favorite film spots!
One of the most quaint parts about visiting Old Westbury Gardens is being able to have lunch or tea outdoors on premises. You can get your lunch fix at Café In the Woods before you leave Old Westbury, and even buy some locally crafted jams & treats!
As you drive from Sands Point to Old Westbury and start thinking about how you want to make your own spring garden at home, check out Hick’s Nursery. Their garden & plant center in Westbury serves many North Shore properties that you see when you visit the area, so check them out to bring all the right garden ideas home.
As you drive through the hilly roads of the North Shore in Oyster Bay, you may encounter a massive regal-looking English imported gate that leads up a long tree lined path. This gate is a key piece to the Planting Fields Arboretum & Coe Hall Estate which encompasses so much Gold Coast history along with many nature preservation efforts. Not only can you take a tour of a historic mansion, but you get lost for hours in the numerous greenhouses where the foundation grows & preserves some of the most beautiful botanic plants & flowers.
Getting hungry along the way? Be sure to stop into Planting Field’s café, visitor center & gift shop in what used to be the old stables for a quick bite or even afternoon high tea!
Love what you saw when you explored Planting Field’s greenhouses? Check out one of the best local garden centers, Heritage Farm & Garden in East Norwich, when you leave. You can even participate in one of their workshops to learn all the best ways to curate your own greenhouse plants!
While you are on your trip visiting the mansions, be sure to book your overnight stay at the Mansion at Glen Cove. Built & owned by one of the Rockefeller’s dear friends, Charles Platt, the Mansion still stands today with its original infrastructure and has an entire hotel & event center attached. They have a speakeasy-esque attic restaurant, a glamourous pool oasis, a salt cave & cycle center next to their indoor pool and 55 beautiful acres to relax on.
End the day with dinner or drinks al fresco at the Mansion’s outdoor patio in the nice weather right next to the beautiful outdoor pool & garden landscape.
Bringing his love for the nautical world & marine life to the North Shore of Long Island, William K. Vanderbilt established his 43-acre waterfront estate on the Long Island sound, which is known now as the Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium. The exquisite mansion where the Vanderbilt’s inhibited their summers here is referred to as Eagle’s Nest, and has elaborate designs & structures based around Spanish influence.
Feeling inspired by the Vanderbilt’s courtyard flower scheme? Visit Decker’s Nursery in Greenlawn to make your own villa-inspired garden dreams come alive! Decker’s is a full service garden center & florist that will provide you with the best educational resources to get your planting started.
As you head between sites, don’t forget to stop into the Huntington downtown for the best deals today from our Downtown Deals Travel Pass!
With numerous stories of resilience throughout the decades, from the people who lived there to the physical structure itself, Oheka Castle, famously named after the philanthropist & monopoly man, Otto Herman Kahn, provides an extensive history of the glorious rise and fall and rise again of estates like such on Long Island. The Castle itself with its amazing French Chateau gardens is the second largest private estate in America, which you may have seen in famous music videos (Blank Space by Taylor Swift) or as celebrity wedding spots.
The castle has 32 luxurious hotel rooms & suites on premise, giving you a one-of-a-kind stay experience with high end amenities that you will never forget.
Enjoy a night cap or a fancy dinner at Oheka Castle’s on-site restaurant, OHK Bar & Restaurant. Dine in the elegant dining room or outside in the opulent courtyard for authentic European ambiance in one of Long Island’s finest mansions.
Explore world-renowned beaches, historical lighthouses, culinary delights, premiere golf courses, Gatsby-era Gold Coast mansions, and award-winning vineyards on Long Island – New York City’s Beachfront Backyard. Download a copy of the Travel Guide for inspiration and more information to plan your perfect getaway.
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