Lasdon Park and Arboretum (95 ha / 234 acres) is a public park containing gardens and an
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
(12 ha / 30 acres). It is located on
New York State Route 35
New York State Route 35 (NY 35) is the principal east–west highway in the northern part of Westchester County, New York, carrying average daily volumes of around 16,500 vehicles. Its western terminus is at US 9 in Peekski ...
,
Somers, New York
Somers is a town located in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 20,434. The nearby Metro-North Commuter Railroad provides service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan with a ...
, and open to the public daily without charge.
Originally called Cobbling Rock Farm, the property was purchased by William and Mildred Lasdon in 1939. The Lasdon family had a keen interest in horticulture and imported many tree specimens to the estate. In 1986 Westchester County purchased the property.
The park contains woodlands, an open grass meadow, and formal gardens with flower and shrub specimens from all over the world. It also contains a Chinese Friendship Pavilion as gift from the
People’s Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to the citizens of Westchester.
* Arboretum (12 ha / 30 acres) - The arboretum consists of woodlands, open grass meadows and formal gardens featuring trees, shrubs, and flowers from around the world. The arboretum includes extensive
lilac
''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
and
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
collections, a large
azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
garden, a yellow
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
grove, and a flowering tree grove. Surrounding the arboretum is a pond and of woodlands that contain many specimen trees and plantings.
* Azalea Garden - a large garden with hundreds of red, white, pink, magenta, yellow, and lavender
azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
s, with small ponds and waterfalls.
* Dwarf Conifer Collection - a variety of dwarf
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
,
fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
, and
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
.
* Magnolias - various
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
species, including several rare yellow specimens developed at the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1910 using land from Mount Prospect Park in central Brooklyn, adjacent to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. The garden holds ...
in the 1950s.
* Famous and Historic Tree Trail - species that commemorate historic events and famous Americans. At each station, one can read about a famous person or event to which the parent tree was witness.
* William and Mildred Lasdon Memorial Garden (0.4 ha / 1 acre) - an entrance court with a fragrance garden; a formal garden with
boxwood
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
hedges, heather, flowering annuals and bulbs, and a central fountain; and a synoptic garden featuring hundreds of shrubs whose names represent every letter in the alphabet, from "A" (
Abelia
''Abelia'' is a previously recognized genus that contained about 30 species and hybrids, placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the genus was not monophyletic, and in 2013, Maarten Christen ...
) through "Z" (
Zenobia
Septimia Zenobia (Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city, ...
).
* Mildred D. Lasdon Bird and Nature Sanctuary (22 acres)
* Chinese Friendship Pavilion and Cultural Garden (1.6 ha / 4 acres) - a pavilion given by Westchester's Sister City,
Jingzhou
Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...
in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, within a young Chinese-style garden with plantings including
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
and Kousa
dogwood
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
, pond, and a stone dust pathway.
* American chestnuts (1.2 ha / 3 acres) - Since 1992 when a grove of rare
American chestnut
The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...
trees was discovered at the arboretum, Westchester County has been working with
The American Chestnut Foundation
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is a nonprofit American organization dedicated to breeding a blight-resistant American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') tree and the reintroduction of this tree to the forests of the Eastern United States ...
to develop a disease-resistant form of this tree. An additional collects chestnuts from around the United States for use in ongoing genetic research.
* Dogwoods - more than 80
dogwood
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
trees from around the world, part of a research project to combat dogwood diseases.
Westchester County Veterans Museum & Memorials
Lasdon Park also features the Westchester County Veterans Museum, with exhibits of photographs, historical documents, artifacts and memorabilia about Westchester County residents who served in the United States armed forces in time of war, from the Revolutionary War to the present. There is no admission charge to the museum.
In addition to the museum, there are four memorials to Westchester residents who served in the military: the Merchant Marine Memorial; the Trail of Honor, 12 stone cairns that display the busts of combat soldiers from the American Revolution through Operation Desert Storm; the Korean Wear Memorial; and the Westchester Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a sculpture of three seven-foot bronze statues that depict a soldier carrying a wounded comrade, with a nurse reaching out to assist them. Nearby, a flagpole is set on a base with inscriptions of Westchester County servicemen and eight women nurses killed in Vietnam.
LASDON PARK IN THE MOVIES:
In the 1987 movie "The Secret of My Success" with Michael J. Fox, the entrance to Lasdon Park and driveway are used as the entrance and driveway to character Brantley Foster's (played by Michael J. Fox) Boss's house when he's asked to drive his Boss's wife home. The limousine turns left into Lasdon Park and is seen driving up the approach road. This precedes the scene when Brantley is swimming with the Boss's wife - only to find that she is actually his Aunt (married to his Uncle) at the company.