Garden Walk 2013

On Saturday, June 29th, the Historical Society of Islip Hamlet held its second "Secret Gardens of Islip - Garden Walk". The morning threatened rain, but before the walk started the sun came through to shine on the beautiful gardens our homeowners created.

The Koltun Garden retains a large Oak, wisteria, Maple, dog wood, forsythia from the original garden. A grape arbor is located directly out of the back kitchen door. A rose garden path was created to lead you with scents of lavender and roses to the barn door. A vegetable garden is tucked away in the south corner of the yard.

The Hafner Garden starts in the front yard and includes various structured foundation plantings close to the house. The corner garden blossoms with seasonal color. A back garden was dug to wrap itself around the brick patio leading to the raised deck. There are many varieties of perennials planted in the back yard.

The Mackey Garden is an informal style cottage garden, planted with the homeowners favorites. An arbor was added for their daughters backyard wedding. A gravestone in the garden, possibly of a horse, has a circle of hosta around it. An in-ground pool was replaced and a new garden was landscaped around it.

The Labzda Garden once housed a local nursery that was owned and run by Mr. Conrad McGregor and supplied shrubs and flowers to many of the local residents of Islip as well as Robert Moses State Park. Many of the rare, beautiful trees and shrubs still adorn the property. Perennials and annuals were added by the current owners.

Brookwood Hall is a 41 room Georgian mansion built in 1903 as a summer retreat for the wealthy businessman Harry K. Knapp. After his passing, the estate was sold to Francis B. Thorne in 1929.