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Gardens pergola Wave Hill 10

The Pergola

Magnificent Views

A dramatic architectural element, the Pergola's Italianate structure frames magnificent views of the Hudson River and the Palisades beyond.

In the warmer months, tropical and annual plants fill the surrounding planting beds with colorful flowers and foliage.

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The fine, symmetrical shape of the upright European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata'), just beyond the Pergola, is a major feature of the landscape year-round.

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In winter, grays, blacks and whites dominate the landscape, the Pergola providing a cool frame for the river beyond.

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As fall settles in, color returns to the Pergola.

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Summer is simply lush.

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The Pegola provides the perfect frame for flowering spring trees.

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Colorful plantings give the views west some serious competition!

A destination for all seasons

The Pergola invites the visitor to pause here to take in the views.

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An essential element of all annual displays at Wave Hill, container plantings...serve as visual focal points and punctuation marks.
Tom Christopher Author of Nature into Art: The Gardens of Wave Hill, 2019.

The view west from the Pergola, towards the Hudson River, encompasses the Lower Lawn.

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Photo: Joshua Bright

More on the Pergola

The plant

Hardy Kiwi

The multiple, gray-barked stems of our hardy kiwi, although bare in winter, are full of handsome foliage all summer.

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Laurel Rimmer at Pergola

An Oasis on the Great Lawn

Intense summer heat and plenty of moisture encourage the rapid growth of the vigorous, tender plants at the Pergola.

Learn more