Welcome to the Houghton Garden, a 10-acre parcel in Newton, Massachusetts that includes a wild garden listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its gracious paths, flanked by azalea and rhododendron, wind around a stream and lagoon-like pond. The alpine rock garden on a ledge overlooking Houghton Pond was one of the first of its kind. Especially lovely are the climbing hydrangea, the naturalized lily-of-the-valley, the wood hyacinth, the umbrella pine, and other exotic evergreens.

In any season, the Houghton Garden is a place of natural beauty and refuge. 

 

History

In 1906, Mr. and Mrs. (Martha) Clement S. Houghton, built their Spanish-American home on Suffolk Road in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. 

More on the history of the Gardens >

Gardens

In 1918 Martha became an admirer of the English Rock Garden and began work on an alpine rock garden overlooking the pond. 

The Garden Design >

Preservation

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In 1958 after Mrs. Houghton's death, the ground were abandoned and he property eventually subdivided. The beloved "wild garden" fell into decay.

The restoration and preservation of the Gardens >