“Hildene, is formed from two old English words, “hil” meaning hill and “dene,” meaning valley with stream. Robert and wife Mary named their Manchester home based on their views of the Taconic Mountains to the west, Green Mountains to the east and th… — “Hildene, is formed from two old English words, “hil” meaning hill and “dene,” meaning valley with stream. Robert and wife Mary named their Manchester home based on their views of the Taconic Mountains to the west, Green Mountains to the east and the Battenkill flowing through the great valley of Vermont below, hill and valley with stream.”

Last year I took a trip up to Manchester, Vermont and stumbled upon Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Located down a narrow dirt road, opens up into a magnificent open space where gardens surround a beautiful house off a mountain side. First entering upon the Welcome Center, wonderful staff greet and welcome visitors to inform them of the pathways they can take with maps of the property for a self-guided tour of Robert and Mary Lincoln's home with over 12 miles of walking trails to choose from. To the right as you enter the welcome center, you will find an inspection honey bee hive where you can see the workers busy gathering pollen in nectar inside the building and flying through a clear plastic pipe to the outside to fly away and visit all the wonderful flowers planted around the gardens. The welcome center is full of wonderful gifts featuring botanicals and history of the Lincoln Family.

As you head up one of the pathways, you will come across the floral garden getting plenty of pollination from butterflies, bees and birds. Beautiful flowers and herbs line the pathway leading up to the Lincoln house.

As you walk through the landscape and up the hill you will come upon the Lincoln Family house, going around the back is a breath taking scenery of endless waves of hills.

Hildene is rooted in Abraham Lincoln’s values, making them our own and relevant to the 21st century.

Meticulous shrubs line the pathway to the view from the back of the house. In between the shrubs you can see all kinds of perennial plants, from peonies to azaleas, each marked with their name.

The 412 acre estate with its Georgian revival mansion and 14 historic buildings includes the home, formal garden and observatory; Welcome Center and The Museum Store in the historic carriage barn; 1903 Pullman car, Sunbeam; a solar powered goat dairy and cheese-making facility.

The gardens were meticulously maintained, pollinators flying around and a beautiful place to walk around. You can go into the house for a quick tour, or just walk around and explore the property. They can accommodate scheduled guided tours, self-guided tours, group tours and school groups. https://hildene.org/visiting/estate/home/gardens/formal_garden