The Conservatory Garden is one of Central Park's several distinct gardens, located on six acres in the northeast end of the park. Entering the park through the Vanderbuilt Gate at 105th Street and Fifth Avenue places you in the Central Gardens. The open lawn, hedges and Conservatory Fountain give the garden a classic Italian flavor.
The North Garden to the right is designed in the French style. Count the tulips - there are 21,000 of them. To the left, the South Garden is designed in a modern American style. It is also known as the Secret Garden, because of the statue in the pool, depicting Mary and Dickon from the classic book, "The Secret Garden".
The six-acre Conservatory Garden is Central Park's only formal garden. It takes its name from the huge glass conservatory that once stood on this same spot, built in 1898. In 1934, when maintenance of the facility had become too costly, the conservatory was demolished and replaced with the present Garden, which opened to the public in 1937. The Conservatory Garden is in fact three gardens representing different landscape styles: Italian, French, and English.