The Cascade at Greenwood Gardens has stood on Old Short Hills Road for about a hundred years. For almost all of that time it held no moving water. Greenwood announced this spring that water was flowing down its seven tiers again "for the first time since the early part of the 20th century." So a landmark that has been part of Short Hills for generations was, for nearly everyone who has lived here, a dry staircase of empty basins.
That makes this fall unusual. The restored Cascade has been running only since late April, and Greenwood's 2026 season ends on Sunday, November 8. From the day this post goes up, six public days are left before the gates close for the winter.
A Fountain Copied From a Baroque Villa
The estate dates to 1906, when Joseph P. Day bought the property and named it "Pleasant Days." His architect was William Whetten Renwick, nephew of James Renwick Jr., who designed St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Smithsonian Institution, and Grace Church. For the Cascade, Renwick adapted a fountain that Carlo Maderno built in the 1620s for a villa in Frascati, Italy. Maderno also designed the façade of St. Peter's Basilica.
Greenwood's own pages don't agree on exactly when the Cascade went up. One history page gives 1915 to 1916 for construction, and the restoration announcement says Renwick designed it in the 1920s. Either way, the structure is about a century old. It was built of tile, stucco, and stone, with seven basins, paired staircases, and custom Rookwood tiles.
The Blanchard family bought the property in 1949 and renamed it "The Greenwoods." Peter P. Blanchard III and Sofia Blanchard later carried out his father's wish to turn it into a public garden, and Greenwood opened to visitors in 2013. Visitors spent the garden's first dozen public years walking past a Cascade that didn't run.
What the Restoration Brought Back
Along with the water, the restoration brought back the sightlines and seating around the fountain. Greenwood and the Garden Conservancy list the main work:
- Repairs to all seven basins and the curving staircases
- A restored upper exedra off the East Terrace, which reopens the long view over South Mountain Reservation
- A restored lower exedra at the base, with its curved seating
- Structural repairs and modern plumbing
- Original Rookwood tiles restored and remounted
- New plantings around the whole feature
NJ Family reported that the Dragon Fountain Pool at the foot of the Cascade was removed, and that the new planting is simpler than the ivy-covered scheme it replaced.
The exedras matter as much as the water. An exedra is a curved seating alcove. The Cascade's upper exedra, off the East Terrace, looks out across the Reservation, and the lower exedra at its base offers curved seating at the bottom of the falling water. Greenwood describes the goal as letting visitors "bask in the soothing experience created by the sight and sound of flowing water." In October, Greenwood held a guided meditation walk with Carl Klemme of Glow Yoga, built around "the sight and sound of our newly restored Cascade." The garden has started planning its programs around the Cascade.
Who Paid for It and How Long It Took
The restoration cost $2.7 million, and private donors paid for all of it. When Greenwood announced the project in April 2025, Patch reported that $2,043,714 had already been raised, about three-quarters of the total.
Allan Summers, principal of Robinson Anderson Summers Landscape Architects, led the design team, and Hobbs Incorporated was the general contractor. Before construction started, the team spent two years testing the structure and concluded that much of the original fountain could be kept rather than rebuilt. That testing probably explains why the timelines differ. Greenwood calls it a 16-month restoration, while NJ Family's April 30, 2026 story said the Cascade "reopened this week after 3 years of repairs." Count the testing and the construction together and the two numbers come out about the same.
All of that work has so far produced one season. The unveiling came in the last week of April, and the 2026 season opened May 1.
The Six Days Left
General admission runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 3:30 p.m. Here is what's left of the 2026 calendar:
Date | Day | Garden hours | Also on the schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
October 30 | Friday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
October 31 | Saturday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
November 1 | Sunday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Gardens of the Gilded Age lecture, 3 to 5 p.m. |
November 6 | Friday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
November 7 | Saturday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
November 8 | Sunday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Final day of the 2026 season |
The November 1 lecture fits the season well. Jana Milbocker, author of Gardens of the Gilded Age, gives an armchair tour of the great estate gardens of that era: the Newport Mansions, the Vanderbilt Estate, Vizcaya, Untermyer Gardens, Nemours, and Pleasant Days, Joseph Day's estate on this site. Admission is $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers, the book can be pre-ordered for $40, and the lecture is capped at 30 attendees. Visitors can see the restored Cascade that afternoon and then hear where the estate fits among the Vanderbilts' and du Ponts' gardens.
A few rules on the Hours & Admission page are worth reading before you go:
- Buy tickets in advance. Greenwood says that is the only way to guarantee entry.
- Come by car. Entry is by vehicle only, and parking is free.
- Leave the stroller in the car, or use the stroller parking on the West Terrace. Uneven paths and stairways mean strollers aren't allowed in the garden.
- Leave the family dog at home. Only certified service animals are permitted.
- Expect to pay $15 per adult ages 13 to 64. Members and children under 3 get in free.
Pick up a self-guided Garden Guide with a map at the ticket kiosk. The upper exedra sits off the East Terrace, and that is where you'll want to stand for the view over the Reservation.
After the Gates Close
Greenwood lists no general admission dates after November 8. Its October to December program calendar does keep the property open on a few winter dates:
- Holiday Gift Shop hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1; Tuesday, December 8; Thursday, December 10; and Tuesday, December 15. These dates are for the shop, not for walking the garden.
- Christmas Bird Count, Saturday, December 19, noon to 3 p.m. It's free, but registration is required and it's limited to 25 participants.
On Greenwood's page, these December listings appear under a heading that reads "December 2025," even though the weekdays match the 2026 calendar. Check the dates with Greenwood before planning around them.
Short Hills has one more garden calendar this fall. The Cora Hartshorn Arboretum & Bird Sanctuary holds a free ArboReaders discussion on Saturday, November 14, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., with the Nature of Reading Bookshop in Madison. The book is Maria Pinto's Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival. It falls six days after Greenwood's last open day.
The Cascade itself won't be open again until Greenwood opens its 2027 season. Until then, the remaining Friday-to-Sunday dates are the last chances this year to stand on the upper exedra and see water running down the seven basins.
Restorations like the Cascade show how much of an older property can be saved after careful testing, and the same question comes up with historic Short Hills real estate. If you're weighing what to preserve, repair, or update before a sale or a renovation, Richa Garg is glad to walk through it with you. Book an Appointment whenever you're ready.
IMAGE COURTESY: GREENWOOD GARDENS / The Restored Cascade Fountain
