b'Similar in Arts and Crafts-style design to the Summerhouse, the interior of the iconic two-story Teahouse, circa 1920, features a ceiling studded with blue, green and brown seashell-shaped Rookwood tiles, and floors paved with the same Fulper tiles as the Summerhouse. The sink and fireplace on the ground floor were in working order and used at the time by the Day family. Photo credit: Vicki Johnson.calls an afternoon when a Saudi princeAnd Peter Blanchard, who once had landed his helicopter on the lawn. Thethis vast estate mostly to himself, now Saudi prince was also rebuffed. sharesitwithdozensorhundredsat But if it was the elder Blanchardanygiventime.Hischildhoodhomewho died in 2000who stipulat- has become the Gardens headquarters ed that he wanted the land to be leftand his old bedroom is its board room, undeveloped, it was his son, long in- a fact, he admits, that fills him with a volved in public preservation efforts,bit of nostalgia every time he enters. He and his wife, Sofia, who made it hap- tries to visit from his home in New York pen, first by offering it to public en- City two or three times a week. Theres titiesandthen,whentheyrefusedanoldroominthe1929Carriage because of the inability to absorb theHouse where he sometimes bunks.great cost of maintaining the garden,He admits to some sentimentality by establishing the Garden as a non- about the place, but sees his gift in his-profit and working to raise money totorical contextas a small continua-keep it going. It has been a years-longtion of the great gift North Jerseys an-effort. Although the Garden officiallycestors gave to their citizens when they became a nonprofit in 2003, it tookcreatedtheReservation.Becauseof a decade to accomplish the work nec- that gift of property, and of the Watc-essary to make the space safe for thehungReservationbeyond,theview general public. Fundraising and workfrom the summit at Greenwood Gar-continue. dens is spectacular. Despite his great love of the forest, Blanchard contends that there is nothing finer than stand-ing on the veranda outside the house, at the very top of the mountain, and having a 360-degree view without any development.That, he would say, is worth more than anything money can buy.GreenwoodGardensislocatedat Among the classes Blanchard gives at274 Short Hills Road in Short Hills. It Greenwood Gardens is "Turkey Talk."will reopen to the public on May 1. Although his parents preferred dogs and horses, he likes birds and has flocks ofTia Swanson grew up next door to the turkeys, geese and chickens in residence.Allegheny National Forest, and under-He thinks it helps people remember that New Jersey is the Garden State, and wasstands the pull of the natural world, and once home to acres upon acres of farms. the beauty of a simpler, quieter existence.feature story /21'