The “marginal garden” explores the boundaries between the wild and the cultivated, particularly the interface of where native plant species meet naturalising garden ones. Such places have ideally achieved a reasonably stable co-existence. Marginal gardens, including Innisfree, can be exciting and surprising, and can challenge our conceptions of both what ‘nature’ and ‘cultivation’ are.

Innisfree trustee Brad Roeller believes that by learning about the environmental and biological factors which influence deer and their food choices, homeowners and professionals can implement informed strategies for deer-proofing their landscapes. Drawing on over forty years of gardening in deer country and his findings in the Deer Browse Garden he created at the Cary Institute funded by a ten-year grant from Cornell, Brad will share hard-won lessons on how to deter deer from browsing ornamental plants.

Federal Twist is set on a ridge above the Delaware River in western New Jersey, USA. It is a naturalistic garden that has loose boundaries and integrates closely with the natural world that surrounds it. It has no utilitarian or leisure uses (no play areas, swimming pools or outdoor dining) and the site is not an obvious choice for a garden (heavy clay soil, poorly drained: quick death for any plants not ecologically suited to it).

Join painter and art historian John McGiff to explore the evolution of Romantic ideals in art. In 17th century Europe, when formal baroque gardens like André Le Nôtre’s Vaux-le-Vicomte were being built that express the rational order and mathematical clarity of the Age of Reason, the fine arts began to look at nature differently.

Help us celebrate National Poetry month with poet Paul Kane, who will discuss the convergence of poetry, nature, and ecology in Romantic ideology and how these ideas can be read in the Innisfree landscape. A professor of English and Environmental Studies at Vassar College, Paul is a scholar of both American and Australian literature.

Inspired by the Japanese tradition of hanami, flower viewing, we invite you to enjoy the transient and transcendental beauty of Marion Beck’s heirloom daffodils.

Inspired by the Japanese tradition of hanami, flower viewing, we invite you to enjoy the transient and transcendental beauty of Marion Beck’s heirloom daffodils.

Join artist and naturalist Tony Henneberg to look and listen for resident and migratory birds. Tony grew up in rural settings where he developed a keen interest in the surrounding wildlife, now the primary focus of his painting

Meet with head docent Judy Carson, and Landscape Curator Kate Kerin to become part of our Docent Program.

Celebrate Mother’s Day with landscape curator, Kate Kerin, for a lively 1.5 hour tour exploring Innisfree.

Join landscape curator, Kate Kerin, for a lively 1.5 hour tour exploring Innisfree, a powerful icon of mid-twentieth century design now recognized as one of the world’s ten best gardens and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Featuring music, reflection and thanks from a myriad of religious and spiritual leaders. Don’t forget to bring your seeds to be blessed. In partnership with Grace Church and St. Peter’s Church  

Join us for a festive day in this iconic, 185-acre garden when special programs will be happening throughout the day.

Certified forest therapy guide Nancy Kopans will lead a gentle, healing walk through Innisfree. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

Meet the Authors of Cold-Hardy Fruit and Nuts

Join landscape curator, Kate Kerin, for a lively 1.5 hour tour exploring Innisfree.

Walk around the garden while being serenaded by classical Japanese instruments and music. Free for anyone who purchases admission