An Excursion to the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, New York

My husband and I visited the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, New York. The two of us haven't been on one of our excursions together for several months because he was having trouble with his leg. This venture was a gentle way to begin our nature expeditions again.

Here's a picture of the Welcome sign and Entrance Pavilion that greet visitors to the park. The Pavilion is designed to be a tranquil place, accessible, and a refuge from the elements--whether that be rain or sun.

You can see in the photo below a little piece of my husband in his red shirt. He is admiring remarkable cacti that were in the Arboretum's Main Greenhouse. That's actually as far as we got in our first visit to this 400 acre park: the Greenhouse.

There is another greenhouse at the Planting Fields, the Camilla House, which, as the name suggests, is totally dedicated to Camillas. However, that greenhouse is further into the park and we didn't get to it yet.

The cactus in the picture above looks like a barrel cactus, Echinocactus. I looked it up online, because I didn't see a label on the plant itself. The barrel cactus shown in the photo is native to Arizona, Texas and Mexico. The cactus may be large, like this one, or small enough to grow in a pot.

Here's another shot of the barrel cactus.

One of the most memorable plants I saw that day was the Mammallaria bambicina. I tried looking up information on the plant, but kept getting results for a Mammallaria bombycina (picture of one at the end of this blog)--which doesn't look like this plant at all.

Mammallaria bambicina

What I did discover in my Google search was a video (below), which, oddly enough, was apparently shot at the Planting Fields. The plant in the video appears to be the very one I show in my photo.

If anyone has any information about Mammallaria bambicina, please share it with me :)

Planting Fields History
The park preserves the estate of the Coe family, a family that established itself on the Gold Coast of Long Island in 1913. This family represented a merger of two wealthy legacies: that of William Rogers Coe and that of Mai Rogers. Coe made his money in insurance (famously having a hand in insuring the doomed Titanic), and Rogers was heir to a fortune made by her robber baron father, Henry Huttleston Rogers, in the Standard Oil Company.

The property for the state park was ceded to New York State in 1949.

The Main Greenhouse designers cited in the sign above are legendary in the field of landscape architecture.

The Main Greenhouse

Both the Sargent family and the Olmsted family are associated with the development of landscape architecture. Sargent's father was a botanist at Harvard University. The Olmsted brothers' father was Frederick Law Olmsted, who is credited with designing Central Park, in NYC.

Here is a shot from inside the Greenhouse

There is a separate section of the Greenhouse, labeled Greenhouse Classroom, where workshops for children are held.

Here's a shot of the Greenhouse Classroom, which has a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door.

The flowers in front of the Classroom are Coral Drift Roses. Here's a better shot of these beautiful flowers.

The attention to detail in the park is evident everywhere. There are nooks here and there, usually with a bench provided, where visitors can enjoy themed displays. In the shot below you can see a beautiful potted plant, which I can't identify--there was no label. However, that didn't diminish my husband's enjoyment of the view, as he sat down and took in the scenery. You can see his legs in the photo.

Here's a picture of a footpath, opposite the Greenhouse, that is made of log slices embedded in the ground.

The focus of this attractive footpath is a log planter, which is visible in the picture above, but which can be seen better in the close-up shot I took (below).

We have gone to the Planting Fields twice now. We couldn't explore much farther than the Greenhouse because of my husband's leg, but in future forays I'm sure we'll be able to go a little bit more into the park. Here's a shot that shows (below) some of the expansive park grounds.

On our path into the park, between the Welcome sign and the Greenhouse, we visited the Sensory Garden. This was built in 2015, apparently with the help of many donors.

The Sensory Garden is described as a place where people of all ages and all abilities can experience nature through each of the five senses. The displays are designed to be visually brilliant, aromatic and also to offer pleasant auditory sensations.

Note the hanging chimes in the picture below.

Here is a broad shot of the Sensory Garden.

As you walk through the paths in the Garden--which are wide enough for a wheelchair--you come upon a fountain. I suppose this is intended to not only be beautiful, but also to offer a pleasant auditory effect. The fountain was dry when we visited.

Here is a picture of the fountain.

The Sensory Garden is supposed to appeal to all the senses, but I don't really get why this place is separate from the rest of the park. My senses were pleased by all of the Planting Fields. As I walked around (the little I saw so far), there were birds singing, aromatic flowers, and beautiful, exotic plants. The whole park, in my opinion, is a sensory garden. The tree pictured below, for example, was simply decorating the grounds.

I can't identify this tree. It doesn't have a label. I enjoyed it with my senses, not my intellect.

Some of the exotic trees are labeled. Here is a picture of a Trumpet Vine (I think).

Here is a closeup (below) of the same tree, with the label clearly displayed. I looked this up online and could find no picture that corresponded to this label and looked like the tree in the picture. Anyone who has any information, please share it.

There are so many amazing plants, in the Greenhouse and outside. I have a picture of one that was in the Greenhouse, quite tall. It reached from the floor to the ceiling. This is a Kapoc Tree.

The tree is native to Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, northern South America, and West Africa.

According to Wikipedia, the West African variety of this tree is among the tallest in the world.

I will end with the picture of a plant that is apparently related to one shown at the beginning of this blog (Mammallaria bambicina). The picture below shows a Mammallaria bombycina.

According to Llifle Encyclopedia this plant originated in Jalsico, Mexico.

There were so many beautiful plants and scenes at the Planting Fields Arboretum that it was hard to select a few to feature in my photos. A treasure trove of pictures remains, and as the summer progresses I'm sure I will have many more to share with the community.

There is a parking fee of $8, but on weekdays seniors (over 62) get to park free.

I hope you enjoyed sharing the little excursion my husband and I took this week.

Thank you for reading my blog. Hive on!

All photos (except the video of Mammallaria bambicina) were taken by me.