Our Mission:
The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is dedicated to honoring and sharing the environmental and design legacy of Beatrix Farrand. By restoring and preserving Farrand's garden at the Bellefield Mansion and offering educational and cultural programs, the association inspires visitors and increases public appreciation of her pioneering work.
As the earliest existing example of her private work, the garden at Bellefield is a striking illustration of Farrand's masterful design, presented in an intimate and accessible setting. As a living testament to Farrand's influential horticultural legacy -- not only as a designer, but as the world's first female landscape architect -- the garden provides an ideal platform to tell her story through lectures, tours and educational programs.
Bellefield mansion is part of the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, and the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is a formal Park Partner organization working with the National Park Service.
Board of Directors
Maria DeWald, President
Dorothy Denny, Vice President
Linda Patzner, Treasurer
Kathleen Crowley, Secretary
Rebecca Adams
Carolyn J. Cole
Susan Devereux
Linda Freisitzer
Debby Glynn
Katherine H. Kerin
Mary Lulu Lamping
Diane Hoe Mucci
Bob Ouimette
Sarah Peacock
Gail Rau
Advisors
Susan Adams
Catherine E. Baer
Nancy Berner
Michael Dupree
Deborah Gordon
Gail Griffin
Angela Henry
Susan Lowry
Frederic C. Rich
Karen Strain Smythe
Nevill Smythe
Anne Symmes
Judith B. Tankard
Heather Whitefield
Karen Waltuch
Horticulturist
Karen came to us after four years at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York City where she maintained the 1.8 acre public park, offering a summer Garden Camp and leading many garden craft and volunteer workshops throughout the year. She did her professional studies as a John Nally Intern at Wave Hill in the Bronx and with the Horticultural Society of NY as a Rikers Island GreenHouse Program intern. Through interning and volunteering Karen found her passion for gardening in public spaces and she finds it a privilege to teach and spread her enthusiasm for all living things.
In her other life Karen is a professional violist who has a diverse performance career.
Chris Zumtobel
Program Director
Chris brings to BFGA more than 8 years of art programming experience with his organization Think Olio. He has curated more than 1000 classes, including international trips to Cuba and Mexico, and dozens of educational retreats in Ulster and Dutchess County. He is committed to building community through accessible, memorable programming in public spaces. Chris has brought jazz bands to living rooms, poets to parks, and historians to rock climbing gyms, and he is delighted to be gathering people in Beatrix Farrand’s beautiful garden in Hyde Park.
Chris lives in Olivebridge in an old farmhouse that he renovated with a group of friends. He loves to garden and each year he plants as many tree seeds as he can get his hands on.