Flower Show at Lyndhurst This Weekend, Site of “The Gilded Age”

By Jill Brooke

Fans of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” will want to visit Lyndhurst this weekend when their annual flower show returns to the estate of railroad tycoon Jay Gould who was featured in the popular series as George Russell. Gould purchased the estate in 1880.

The annual flower show will take place April 2 and April 3rd.

Overlooking the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, Lyndhurst is one of America’s finest Gothic Revival mansions. Designed in 1838 by Alexander Jackson Davis (1803-1892), the mansion’s architectural brilliance is complemented by its comprehensive collection of original decorative arts and the estate’s park-like landscape.

The estate was shaped for more than a century by three families and their staff: The Pauldings, The Merritts, and the Goulds. Their influence is evident in the expansion of the main house from a country villa “in the pointed style” to a Gothic mansion, the park-like design of the grounds, as well as in the rich furnishings and decorations inside.

As explored in “The Gilded Age,” the 19th century was a period of political and technological change in America as well as the arrival of new money wanting to be part of established society. Furthermore, as we saw in the series, flowers were prominently featured and festooned not only in magnificent costumes and decor but also in mouth-watering, jaw-dropping lush floral arrangements. And this show has artists of equal talent.

Romanticism dominated the arts, and the movement emphasized the appreciation of nature, imagination, and emotion as the Hudson River Valley became the center for painting and architecture. Wealthy patrons commissioned the construction of mansions in a variety of styles along the bluffs of the river from New York City to Albany.

The florists who will create beautiful floral arrangements to complement the exquisite interiors are Alison Layton Studio (Brooklyn, NY) Cape Lily Designs (Irvington, NY) Colonial Village Flowers (Scarsdale, NY) Joshua Werber (Brooklyn, NY),Maple Field Floral (Cortland Manor, NY),Michelle Edgemont Design (Tarrytown, NY),Mossy Fern (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY),Penny Karvounis Flowers (Mount Kisco, NY),Haston Floral and Event Design (New York, NY),Ned Kelly & Company (Piermont, NY),Seasons on the Hudson Irvington and New York City (Irvington, NY),Sourabh Gupta Designs (Harlem, NY) and Wild Flower (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY).

Can’t wait to show you what they create for the Lyndhurst Show.

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD,  floral editor for Aspire Design and Home magazine and contributor to Florists Review magazine.