Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:124 Raymond Avenue
Poughkeepsie, New York
Tel:
(845) 437-7300
Our Botanical Gardens Expert Says:
The historical Vassar College, one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, in fact also houses a significant arboretum. Between the period and modern buildings, on 1,000 acres of forest land, there are over 200 types of trees. For a century and a half, the members of every class to pass through the college's gates have chosen a unique tree to reflect and memorialize them. These trees include such specimens as elms and maples, Russian olive trees and cucumber-tree magnolia. And since 1916, the Shakespeare Garden has featured all or many of the trees the Bard mentioned in his plays and sonnets. Vassar is located near Poughkeepsie - you can take Hooker Avenue eastward from the downtown area. Since this is a college admission is of course free, and there are markers indicating the types of trees.
From Vassar College Shakespeare Gardens - Poughkeepsie, New York:
The Shakespeare Garden, planted in 1916 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, is designed to resemble a 16th-century English garden.