Shakespeare Garden
Hidden along a steep hillside below Belvedere Castle is the enchanting Shakespeare Garden.
Evocative of an English cottage garden, the four-acre space is densely planted with trees, shrubs, flowers, and herbs mentioned in William Shakespeare’s plays and poems. Scattered throughout the Garden are bronze plaques with quotes from Shakespeare that reference plants.
Shakespeare Garden is fittingly located near the Delacorte Theater, the venue for the Public Theater’s productions of Shakespeare in the Park. But the Garden predates the theater by several decades. A garden was first created on this site in 1912 by Dr. Edmond Bronk Southwick, NYC Parks’ entomologist, as a place for public school children to study plants and natural history, called “The Garden of the Heart.” Southwick, an avid Shakespeare fan, included four large planting beds with flowers found in Shakespeare’s literature, also intended as a teaching tool. The Garden became more focused on Shakespeare in 1916, in part because of celebrations of the tricentennial of Shakespeare’s death, and was dedicated and officially named on April 23, 1916. Visitors can also find here a [curved granite bench] named in honor of Charles Stover, who was Parks Commissioner from 1910 to 1913 and instrumental in the creation of the Garden.
Maintenance of such a detailed and intricate garden was a challenge from the beginning and it experienced numerous periods of decline, reaching a low point in the 1970s when it was overgrown with weeds and many of the original plants lost. In 1975 a group of community volunteers began to restore it and in 1987 the Central Park Conservancy completed a full restoration, including adding new plantings, rustic wood benches and fences, and the bronze plaques.
Things you can do here
Tour
Family Tour of Shakespeare Garden
Tags: Best for Kids
Also in the area
Read more
Things to See and Do
What’s Blooming This Summer in Central Park
Tags: Summer / Flowers
Park Information
A Reflection of Nature Itself: The Different Landscapes of Central Park
Central Park is made up of a variety of landscapes that are diverse, intricate, and interconnected—just like the communities of Park-lovers who enjoy them.
Tags: Trees / Nature Lovers / Lawns / Landscapes
Things to See and Do
Stories from Central Park
We set out to capture some of their stories and create a picture of the Park on an average day, through our visitors' eyes.
Tags: Families / Summer
Things to See and Do
10 Date Ideas in Central Park
Tags: Tips for Visiting
About the Conservancy
Seasons in Flux: How the New Climate Reality is Disrupting the Calendar for Parks
In extensive interviews for the Central Park Climate Lab, Conservancy staff members detail a new normal in the ways in which an urban park is planned for and operates, from planting seasons and choices to labor constraints and challenges. This warm winter was just the latest example, and it has long-lasting ramifications for greenspaces like Central Park.
Tags: Conservancy Staff / Nature Lovers / Park Experts
Things to See and Do
Secrets of Shakespeare Garden
Named for poet and playwright William Shakespeare, this Garden in Central Park is designed to evoke the Bard’s native English countryside.
Tags: Spring / Flowers / Tips for Visiting