Kim Pritt, contributor Posted on July 23, 2022 at 3:00 pm
View of the mansion across one of the nine gardens on the premises.
Let’s go on an adventure together … To Sonneberg Gardens!
On Thursday, July 14th, I was able to visit a local treasure, the Sonenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY. It was a day trip organized by Mitzy Peglow of Orleans Travel for my busy group of friends. A comfortable bus took our group from the Tops parking lot to Canandaigua’s destination, Sonenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historical Park. It was a very nice day – I had a great time! I love doing day trip bus tours. It gives me the opportunity to experience new things around our area without having to drive and find my way. Perfect!
Sonnenberg Gardens is a 50-acre site on the northern tip of Lake Canandyqua in the beautiful Finger Lakes, originally a 300-acre farm. Open to the public from late spring to mid-autumn, the property was a summer villa for Frederick Ferris Thompson and his wife Mary Clark Thompson. Frederick is a prominent banker in New York City and one of the co-founders of what is now known as Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank. Mary was the daughter of former New York Governor Myron Holly Clark. The couple’s main home was in New York City, but they chose Mary’s hometown of Canandaigua as their summer villa. In 1887, they built a 40-room Queen Anne-style mansion where a former farmhouse stood. Today, the property is managed by a non-profit organization founded in the early 1970s to restore mansions and gardens. They have 6 staff and about 170 seasonal volunteers throughout the year and are run solely on funds raised from admission, events, membership / donations, gift and wine sales. They do not receive local, state, or federal funding. Given all that from the history of property and some other facts, I think they are doing a great job.
This is the entrance to a greenhouse complex dedicated to a variety of specific flower varieties, such as orchids and succulents. There is also a greenhouse around the property.
We were left to explore the gardens and mansions ourselves. It was a wonderful day to take a walk in the accommodation and enjoy the splendor and rich life of the golden age. When you think of a summer villa, you think of a small cottage by the lake … It has 40 mansions, bedrooms with full bathrooms and a large walk-in closet / dressing room. The mansion is wonderful and full of beautiful original furniture and items owned by Thompsons. The gardens can use a little more gentle and affectionate care, but it’s easy to imagine how luxurious the property was in Thompson’s time.
The accommodation consists of nine gardens of various styles, including a mansion, a wonderful Japanese garden, some green houses, a cafe offering a light lunch, a gift shop, and a Finger Lakes Wine Center offering wine tastings. increase.
Lunch was the highlight of the day. Choose from three wraps: vegetables, smoked turkey, and chicken caesar. I chose smoked turkey and was very satisfied. Instead of regular tortilla wraps, we used delicate crepes to wrap meat, lettuce, red onions, and roasted red pepper mayonnaise. It was great. What a great idea! The diet started with a yogurt-based, absolutely incredible chilled melon and berry soup – I think everyone wanted more of that soup – I know what I did! We finished the lunch with delicious cookies and brownies. very good!
After lunch, we gathered at the Finger Lakes Wine Center for a wine tasting. We were treated to 6 different wines to taste. Four are Sonnenberg’s own wines and are sold only on site. I can’t find it anywhere else and it’s very delicious. The other two were from wineries in other Finger Lakes regions. Hot pepper wine that really surprised me and watermelon wine that was the perfect ending to the wine tasting. I enjoyed all six wines.
After wine tasting, some enjoyed strolling in the garden they missed before lunch, chatting, and going out on such a gorgeous day. The bus returned home at around 3:30 and returned to Albion at around 4:45. It was a very nice day. We all had a good time.
We highly recommend visiting the Sonenberg Gardens in Canandaigua. This is certainly a local treasure and easy to reach. Not too far.
I took a lot of pictures and did a lot of research on the history of Sonneberg Gardens and the couple Thompsons who built it. Check out my blog post for all the photos and history … and then go see it for yourself: https://thoughtsbykim.com/2022/07/20/2022-sonnenberg-gardens-day-trip-adventure/
Happy adventure!
This stunning stained glass window is the first thing you’ll see when you reach the bottom of the stairs leading into the old route cellar, which is now the beautiful tasting room of the Finger Lakes Wine Center.
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