The Mountsier Garden in Nutley: A Private Oasis Open 4x Per Year

Tucked behind a residential home in Nutley, New Jersey is a hidden backyard that feels like stepping into a world-class botanical garden. On a quiet street in Nutley sits Mountsier Garden, a renowned private garden that opens to the public just four times a year, drawing visitors from across Essex County and beyond. This beautifully designed space is the lifelong passion project of Nutley residents Silas Mountsier and Graeme Hardie, created with the help of collaborating landscape architect Richard Hartledge. Known as one of the most unique gardens in New Jersey and a true hidden gem in Nutley, the space blends thoughtful landscape design with a welcoming community spirit. Read on for more about Mountsier Garden, a hidden gem in Nutley, New Jersey.

The History

Situated on 2.5 acres of property, this garden is part of The Garden Conservancy. Per the organization’s website, Mountsier is “a garden for all seasons that has been created and fine-tuned for more than two decades and now encompasses two acres. Owners Silas Montsier and Graeme Hardie have collaborated with noted landscape designer and friend Richard Hartlage, and the result is a feast for the eyes and for the senses. Principally a stroll garden, there are numerous focal points, small rooms, seating areas, private nooks, and impressive vistas.”

The beautiful teal house, accented with classic antiques as well as the garden, has been expanded by Nutley-born-and-raised Silas Mountsier throughout the some-odd ninety years of his life.

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The Gardens Today

A visit starts as a walk up through the cobblestone driveway. A Japanese pagoda sits alongside a tree, cellar doors appear as sculptures of iron, and a collection of planted pots displays moderate pizzazz. A visitor may think, ” Is that it? But as guests peek through a sunroom walkway and turn past a row of narrow hedges, they enter a wonderland. Don’t be fooled by the modest introduction; this garden is a step away from suburban Nutley and into a lush landscape that even Alice would not have resisted.

The first impression is the size. Layers of trees, shrubs, and plants lead the eye to the sky, while a vibrant grass lawn affords a deeper view into the garden. Brick and stone make up a hardscape that feels classic and European. Hostas and Japanese maples edge borders with playful texture. The Mountsier Gardens feels like an escape, a rabbit hole into another dimension where everything is calm, green, and effortless.

Wandering the paths will bring about all kinds of views. From intimate corridors of hedges to hydrangea-covered arches, visitors may feel complete solitude or a glimpse of the property beyond. There is art and water, often a combination of the two, everywhere. But there’s also a playfulness that reveals what all gardens are meant to be: joyful. With countless cushioned seats, loungers, and dining tables, visitors are meant to feel welcome to sit and relax, to enjoy the space.

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Some of the highlights of the garden include:

• Hornbeams that are sculpted into perfect popsicle shapes.
• A lion statue that gazes back at you.
• Scandalous statues back by the guest house.
• A garden lookout tower where you can enjoy the solitude.
• A peaceful Buddha round for reflection.
• A little statue of a boy watching a fountain.
• Greenhouses
• Stagferns aplenty