Conservatory Garden

The Conservatory Garden is Central Park’s formal garden and one of the most significant public gardens in New York City.
The North (French-style) Garden, allées in the Center (Italianate) Garden, and Vanderbilt Gate are currently closed to accommodate our ongoing restoration of the Conservatory Garden. The restoration of the South (English-style) Garden is complete, and the space is open to the public. Click here to learn more about this project.
A destination for neighborhood residents and visitors from all over the world, its six acres are well-known for plantings of tulips, lilacs, crabapple trees, summer perennials, and chrysanthemums. Its more formal design and specular floral displays have also made it a popular destination for small weddings.
The Garden opened in 1937 and is named for the glass conservatory that was built at this location in 1899 to offer seasonal plant displays to the public. Even earlier, this area had a horticultural function—it housed a large greenhouse designed by Park co-designer Calvert Vaux for growing plants for the Park’s landscapes.
The Conservatory Garden is composed of three areas, each with a distinct design: the French-style North Garden, the Italianate Center Garden, and the English-style South Garden. The main entrance is marked by an ornate gate, known as the Vanderbilt Gate, which was donated to the City by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and once adorned the mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street.
Conservatory Garden Stroll
Take a walk through the Conservatory Garden in the spring, when crabapple trees and tulips are in bloom.
Through the gate is the Center Garden, influenced by Italian Renaissance gardens. Its symmetrical design features a central lawn with a single jet fountain, behind which is a semicircular pergola covered in wisteria. The lawn is bordered by yew hedges and flanked with allées of crabapple trees, which bloom every spring.
The North Garden offers spectacular seasonal displays of tulips each spring and Korean chrysanthemums in autumn. At its center stands the Untermyer Fountain, featuring the Three Dancing Maidens by German sculptor Walter Schott, which is surrounded by an intricate French parterre garden.
The South Garden is arranged in concentric planting beds in the style of an English perennial garden. It contains a diverse array of plantings that bring interest and beauty to every season, including bulbs, annuals, perennials, and numerous flowering trees. This garden also features the Burnett Fountain, a memorial to the author Frances Hodgson Burnett, that stands at one end of a waterlily pool.
Things you can do here

Guides
Guide to Fall Foliage in Central Park
Tags: Plants and Trees

Self-Guided Tours
East Meadow Tree Walk
Spot numerous species of trees on this beautiful walk up the east side to Conservatory Garden.
Tags: Tree Walk / Plants and Trees

Tours
Conservatory Garden Tour
Take a behind-the-scenes tour with Conservatory Garden staff as we explore this urban gem.
Tags: Seasonal / Staff Picks / Nature Lovers / Park Experts / First-Time Visitors

Benefit Events
Evening in the Garden
The Greensward Circle—the Central Park Conservancy’s network of young professionals—presents the 15th annual summer benefit, Evening in the Garden.
Tags: For Members

Guides
Weddings

Guide
Conservatory Garden: Bed #5
Tags: Plants and Trees
Also in the area
Read more

Park Information
Sculpted Nature: Landscape Architecture in Central Park
Tags: Park Design

Restoration and Maintenance
Restoring the Dairy, Naumburg Bandshell, and Other Beloved Park Features
Discover what Park features and destinations the Central Park Conservancy is improving this fall.
Tags: Conservancy Staff

Health and Fitness
A Place Where Hope Blooms: The Healing Nature of the Conservatory Garden
The colorful display of tulips and daffodils is made possible every year by months of thoughtful planning, design, and planting by the Central Park Conservancy’s gardening team.
Tags: Conservancy Staff / Park Design / Spring / Flowers / Nature Lovers

Things to See and Do
What’s Blooming This Summer in Central Park
Tags: Summer / Flowers

Park History
See Newly Digitized Images of Winter in Central Park
Snowy scenes from the 1980s and 1990s are some of the Central Park Conservancy's recently digitized images.
Tags: Conservancy Staff / History

Plants and Trees
What Are Central Park’s Most Colorful Fall Trees?
In appreciation of this photogenic time of year, we asked a Conservancy arborist what trees you should look for this autumn and where to find them.
Tags: Fall / Trees