The Waters of Innisfree

A Magical Place in Millbrook, NY

    If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. — Loren Eiseley

Moving water enchants a Garden - This is at Innisfree

Water is the magical ingredient in a garden. It catches the light in languid pools and rocky cascades. It scintillates and delights, infusing the atmosphere with an ethereal mist. The serene appeal of water lies in its never-ending ability to refresh our spirits.

Some of my favorite water features can be found in the remarkable landscape known as Innisfree, in Millbrook, New York. This 185-acre naturalistic haven was created about 80 years ago by the late Walter Beck, an American painter who was inspired by the work of the 8th-century Chinese artist Wang Wei. The scholarly Beck, described as a "mystical man,” spent more than 20 years moving rocks and soil to create his individual “teacup” gardens in accordance with the lay of the land. After his death, his close collaborator, the landscape architect Lester Collins, continued the task and spent 40 years refining the grounds to become the masterpiece it is today. Mr. Collins wrote that the garden,

"requires a stroll over serpentine, seemingly aimless garden arteries. The observer walks into a series of episodes, like Alice through the looking glass."

Today, Innisfree is open to the public from May through October.

Innisfree’s water features such as this aptly named, ‘hillside cave’, delight and intrigue visitors.

Walter Beck was enamored with water. He designed springs, waterfalls and streams, and placed them all over the grounds. Thus, the sound of dripping, misting, splashing or rushing water is a constant companion as you walk through this outdoor haven. The water’s movement is due to the large natural lake within Innisfree, called Tyrrel Lake.  Beck used the lake as a water source and pumped the water up to a hilltop reservoir. This gravity-fed water system feeds all the streams, waterfalls and pools below, and, to Beck’s credit, is still working today!   

Beck’s adeptness in working with stone and water in the landscape may have come from his experience as a painter. He described his approach in his book, Painting with Starch:

“One does not think in dimensions or of restrictions; one is swayed by rhythms, and there is a willingness to follow wherever the experiment leads.”