Humes Japanese Stroll Garden and Old Westbury Mansion and Gardens

ON MAY 5, 2001, I was among 18 students who went on a field trip to Long Island. At 9:15 a.m., we boarded a private bus and went first to the Humes Japanese Stroll Garden and then to Old Westbury Mansion and Gardens. Our guide at the stroll garden was Stephen Morrell who is also the curator. He spoke about his studies in Zen Buddhism and explained details of the garden, like the path of stepping stones. One minute the stones are big and you can place both feet on them and then the stones are small and only one foot will fit. In the garden, as in life, you must be alert to where you are.

The highlight of our tour was the tea ceremony. Mr. Morrell told us he was interested in performing the traditional Japanese tea ceremony and he studied with a Japanese master at the Urasenke Foundation in Manhattan. After years of training he was ready to demonstrate the ceremony in the teahouse at the Garden. When Mr. Morrell demonstrates the tea ceremony at the garden it is open to the public, but a traditional Japanese tea ceremony is private and for just a few people.
There is bowing to show respect. The tea master bows to his guest. When he begins to prepare the tea everything used is cleaned. He presents the tea to the guest and the guest drinks the tea and eats a small sweet. Afterwards everything is cleaned and carefully put away.

For information on the Humes Japanese stroll Garden
http://dir.gardenweb.com/directory/hjsg

Old Westbury Mansion and Garden

OUR NEXT DESTINATION was Old Westbury Mansion and Gardens. The mansion once belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Phipps. Mr. Phipps was an American who went to England and fell in love with a woman from there. Before she would marry him and move to America, she wanted a mansion built that was like 18th century England. Although it was the twentieth century, Mr. Phipps had the mansion built as his bride requested. The mansion and the land are really something out of the ordinary. You have to walk up a hill to reach the mansion and once inside the rooms are incredibly beautiful, each with paintings. To accommodate their children, three boys and one girl, the mansion was expanded and a family room was built. The room is built entirely of glass windows that can be removed by being lowered to the basement. Even the bathrooms here are special and you just have to be there to see. Another aspect of the estate is its gardens. There are outdoor garden rooms with different flowers like roses or lilacs and even a log cabin where the children could play.

I enjoyed this trip because it was something different. Living in the Bronx, you usually do not get to experience something like this. Although there is the Botanical Garden, this is something different. I would advise anyone who wants to get away from the Bronx to go to these two destinations.

La Tiffany Campbell

For information on Old Westbury Mansion and Gardens and a virtual visit:
http://www.oldwestburygardens.org