The Gardens

About the Gardens

When the Jones family later took residence, they brought a Victorian sensibility to the grounds, expanding the gardens with elegant design and lush plantings. They introduced a wooden lattice pergola, boxwood rose parterre beds, and a dazzling array of roses, lilies, wisteria, and hollyhocks. Photographs from the late 19th century capture the gardens in full bloom, offering a glimpse into a time when ornamental gardening flourished as an expression of refinement and leisure.

In the 1930s, the Duff family continued to shape the landscape in collaboration with Boston landscape architect Mrs. John Coolidge. Their updates included the addition of reflecting pools, ornamental plantings, and brilliant seasonal displays of tulips that brought new life to the property. Today, the RJD gardens blend elements from all three eras—visitors can wander through the restored boxwood rose parterre, explore specimen gardens and woodland areas, and admire the 19th-century pergola and recreated wooden apiary from the Jones era. Ongoing restoration ensures that these gardens remain a vibrant, living part of the museum—an inspiring setting for concerts, theater performances, tours, educational programs, and community events. Strolling through the RJD gardens is to experience a living landscape that tells the story of nearly two centuries of beauty, care, and transformation.