The rain has ended and the mist remained as I drove over to the high school this morning...and of course I thought of The City of Enoch and requested its quick return....someday soon perhaps? I think we saw a bit of Paradise later today as we visited Sonnenberg Gardens.
What to do on a free Monday....Oh, Elder Bushman found a place to visit, surprise, surprise. SONNENBERG GARDENS & MANSION now a New York State Historic Park. "This was the "summer" home of Mr. and Mrs Frederick Ferris Thompson When they bought the property it was already called Sonnenberg (German for "Sunny Hill") This couple met in Albany while Mary's father, Myron Holley Clark, was serving as governor of New York State between 1855 & 1857. Frederick and Mary were married in 1857. The Thompson's maintained their primary residence in New York City, where Frederick was a founder and lifelong director of the First National Bank of the City of New York. The bank he helped establish is now Citybank. When the Thompson's purchased Sonnenberg in 1863, it included a brick farmhouse and 20 acres. As business prospered, Frederick and Mary purchased additional property and replaced the farmhouse with a forty room, Queen-Anne style mansion (built 1885-1887). They had no children so when Mary passed away in 1923, she left the estate to her nephew, Emory Clark. In 1931, Emory sold Sonnenberg to the U.S. Government and the new Canandaigua VA Hospital was established. The mansion was converted to nurses' and doctors' housing. In 1973 the nonprofit organization "Sonnenberg Gardens" obtained title to 52 acres of the original estate and opened Sonnenberg's gates to the public."
"Never have we seen its equal elsewhere, and never will we see it surpassed. We hope its charm will live forever." Dr. William T. Hornaday on Sonnenberg's Japanese Garden (1917)
This is the back of the home looking into the manicured landscaped lawn.
Because of rain this kind volunteer took us to the top of the hill from the parking lot. He also needed to bring the woman volunteer down...so glad she need the ride down! We then enjoyed our tour of the mansion and our decent back to the parking lot from all the gardens. My knees thank him for his kindness and the history he shared with us.
We toured the mansion first and it was awesome inside...Art took tons of photo's but I was most interested in this one of a kind music box! It is the only one ever made by the company. I loved the sound of it! The mansion was beautiful inside.
As we left the mansion hill the sun began to shine through the clouds and we were blessed to enjoy the gardens. Pictures we took did not do justice to the beauty. Of course there was every flower you can imagine...and there were two beautiful rose gardens where Mary built a iron tower to look out at the beautiful creations. She had a stone Peacock House with several Peacocks that roamed the property. She had some beautiful white ones. She had several aviaries with all kinds of exotic birds. She also had miniature deer and horses that roamed the deer park and south lawn. She had her own "secret garden" that was surrounded with hedges and pine trees and when entered was this fountain and seating where she would invite only special guests to visit. I think I received "magical wakefulness" when I entered here! As I looked upon this beautiful creation I pondered Mary when she awoke in heaven and realized that, yes, she is going to live forever! Such a
beautiful secret garden.
"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...”
This bridge was over a coy pond with beautiful water lilies growing everywhere in the pond.
The Japanese Gardens were indescribably beautiful. The Buddha statue was awesome.
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."
Buddha On close examination of Buddha we found a nickel placed in his hands....anyone know the meaning of this? Ha!
"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
We ended our tour by going into the greenhouses. I discovered a Bracken fern. These are the ferns that me own McIlvane ancestors' hid under in Scotland to escape death. They changed their name to Brackenridge so as to escape to America...where my line now goes by Breckenridge.
This was one of the orchids in bloom.
This is a type of cactus like Art's mother Genevieve had in her own living room window.
We found the fish in the greenhouse where it was nice and warm and they were thriving among the plants placed in that pond.
The beauties in this Park were awe inspiring. The luxury in which this couple lived and entertained was overpowering for a simple mind like mine. The good they did in their community was just as wonderful. When they died the beauty of this lifestyle died with them. Their nephew had no interest in returning to live there. I've pondered that a lot since visiting this site. We can't take our property with us, but we can take our ideas and love of others with us. I will enjoy seeing what Mary Thompson has created as her mansion "in the sky". There are over 100 volunteers trying to keep this beautiful area up for others to enjoy. I'm sure she will have a lot to thank them for when they all meet hereafter. I know she is aware of their sacrifice in behalf of the beauties she created.
I hope someone has done the temple work for Mary and Frederick so they can be reunited with these awesome birds they raised.
“Might I," quavered Mary, "might I have a bit of earth?”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
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