Secret Gardens in Schenectady's Stockade

We love a behind the scenes tour inside a historic building. We also love seeing what’s behind a historic building — at least when gardens are involved! The Stockade Association’s annual Garden Tour opens up private gardens throughout the Stockade Historic District, showing off some truly spectacular spaces. The League included the Schenectady Stockade on our Seven to Save list in 2016 and we love how invested residents are in stewarding the historic homes and buildings there.

A rainy afternoon kept me from seeing all of gardens on the route, but here are a few that I was able to explore. (Garden descriptions are pulled from the event flyer)

The Brouwer House Garden

Schenectady County Historical Society* became the owner of the Brouwer House, c. 1735, several years ago by a bequest from the Kindl Family. Shared artisanal, meeting, and performance spaces now occupy the house. This garden is a hidden gem in the center of the Stockade. The arbor entrance is festooned by a lush planting of “Dutch Pipes,” harkening back to the Stockade’s Dutch beginnings. Master Gardener Chris Kirksey has worked tirelessly to transform this garden from a neglected space to a magnificent garden. The many varieties of shade loving plants, the range of sizes, shapes, forms, and colors make this garden a work of art.
*The League awarded SCHS a Preserve New York Grant in 2018 to fund a Historic Structure Report for the Brouwer House.

Washington Avenue

These gardens are a focal point of an expansive terraced yard that opens on to the historic Binnekill. The home’s former green house provides a picturesque cottage-like backdrop to wildflower and herb plants, while a small fish pond hosts a variety of mostly non-flowering greenery. The small garden nearest the house features the unique passion flower vine at its center. The lower lawn has been largely uncultivated, though it affords a lovely view of the Binnekill and the occasional sightings of graceful egrets in flight.

Front Street

This garden is a backyard mini-arboretum, a botanical garden of conifers comprised of at least 65 different cultivars. The former owner and gardener was a longtime member of the American Conifer Society (NE) whose purpose is to promote the use of conifers in the garden and landscape, and to educate the public about their care and conservation.

Front Street

The small densely planted garden is truly a hidden oasis amidst the urban landscape. The homeowner notes that her “glass room/porch makes the garden part of my house and brings the outside inside.” The art: A spectrum of color unifies this collection of painted drums, oversized masks, and a Day of the Dead sugar skull piece. The artists: Collaborative, Katie Kelly, Nadine Nandkissore, Linda Shaw.