Buzz & Bloom: A Kids’ Pollinator Adventure

Explore the beautiful Lyndhurst landscape through the eyes of pollinators on this kid-friendly discovery tour led by our horticulturalist. The expedition begins at the Welcome Center and ends at the Overlook, former site of Helen Gould’s treehouse, where a colorful native garden awaits. Stand upon the new viewing platform and take in the view through the eyes of a bird. Learn why bumblebees are so fluffy and what insects are good for your garden. The discovery portion of the program will be followed by a hands-on gardening activity in the landscape. Families and young visitors will learn how to make a Native Seed Ball. Dress comfortably and be prepared to get your hands dirty!

Important Information, Please Read:

• Check-in at the Welcome Center
• This is a walking tour and involves a hands-on gardening activity (Materials provided)
• The tour and activity are 75 minutes long.
• Free event, but advance registration is required.
• These tickets do not include access to the mansion. 
• Please arrive 15 minutes before the entry time on your ticket. If you are late, we will do our best to accommodate you, but we cannot guarantee it.
• A Grounds Pass is not needed if you already have a Tour or Event Ticket. 
• To best accommodate groups, including special needs, please contact us in advance to make reservations at 914-303-6844. 

The Overlook Garden is a pollinator-friendly garden full of low-maintenance native plants, including flowering shrubs and perennials, and ornamental grasses. Designed by Hudson Valley landscape artist Paula Hayes, it forms a circular pattern, a mandala of plants, around the newly restored Overlook platform.  Historically, this platform was a treehouse centered around a weeping European birch tree. Due to climate change, the tree could not be returned to the landscape. Several of the shade trees and shrub tunnels that once adorned this area of the landscape are now missing and will be restored over time.

Mandalas often represent unity, harmony, and a sense of connection. The individual beds in the garden, swaths of tall grasses that elicit a sense of movement and groupings of colorful flowers, will evolve over time and merge to form a meadow. While akin to the wilder way in which we design gardens today, the design supports the 19th-century gardening principles of Helen Gould, an avid naturalist whose library included books on ornithology, native trees, and beneficial insects. Helen’s additions to the Lyndhurst landscape included flowering shrubs and extensive perennial beds. Today, the Overlook Garden, at the site of her former treehouse, is an example of the evolution of the American landscape and our need to evolve with it, via biodiverse plantings and sustainable landscaping practices, as the environment changes. Standing atop the platform, visitors are surrounded by plants that are beneficial to bees, insects, and birds, and remind us of the joys of connecting with nature.