General News: Formal Gardens Open at Bannerman Castle
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| Bannerman's Castle |
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| Donna Blakemore enroute to plant more flowers |
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| Joan Bannerman (r) and Evelyn Palen cut the ribbon |
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| Local dignitaries on hand for the opening |
August 23, 2007
The gardens of Bannerman Castle have been reborn, thanks to the efforts of private citizens and local businesses that donated time and money to recreate the once-stately gardens on the island.
On August 18, the Gardens at Bannerman were officially opened in a ceremonial ribbon-cutting act by Jane Bannerman, the granddaughter-in-law of the castle’s creator, and Evelyn Owen Palen, who lived on Bannerman Island in 1934 for one year with her brother Leonard Wayne Owen, the assistant superintendent of Bannerman Island, while she went to college. A picnic sponsored by Wal-mart and Adams Fairacre Farm followed the ceremony, which was attended by several local officials.
A group of dedicated volunteers came up with the idea for rebuilding the gardens as part of the restoration efforts of the Bannerman Castle Trust. They approached Wal-mart, Adams Fairacre Farm, Mark Adams Greenhouses, The Landscape Home and Design Center, Home Depot and ShopRite, along with Bluestone Perennials of Madison Ohio and The Antique Rose Emporium of Texas, which all donated plants to recreate Helen Bannerman's gardens that once graced the island. The gardens were designed by the Orange County Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners.
Donna Blakemore spearheaded the garden’s rebirth and has been working with a group of volunteers all year on the project, which is part of the Hudson Highlands State Park, which sits on the east side of Cornwall Bay in the Hudson.
To tour the gardens, visitors can take a Bannerman Island Walking Tour that departs on the Hudson River adventure vessel, The Pollepel, every Saturday and Sunday from the Torches dock in Newburgh and The Beacon Ferry dock in Beacon through October.
People may also visit the garden with the Storm King Adventure Tours, which offers kayak tours of the Hudson river, including one to Bannerman Island.
Photos, by Linda Hubbard, can be viewed in a larger format by clicking on the image.
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