The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy is midway through a major summer project called the Rhododendron Walk. This new garden is located near the new Ruin Garden, close to the Old Croton Aqueduct gate, and will re-imagine the collection of rhododendrons once cultivated by Samuel Untermyer, once one of the finest in America.
Working under the leadership of Liz Dreeben, a conservancy gardener, a crew of seven Yonkers public high school students has been transforming this area. About an acre of land was cleared of brush and invasive plants. Next, the land will be contoured, and soil will be tilled and enriched with compost.
New stairs will be built to help climb the grade and lastly, the whole area will be planted with hundreds of rhododendrons, other related shrubs, and woodland herbaceous plants.
It is hoped that this intern program will become a model for an annual program involving Yonkers youth, giving them valuable workplace and landscaping skills.
Visit untermyergardens.org for more information.
