Greenwood Gardens
While Peter’s parents rebuilt
the house, they left the hardscape
(masonry and woodwork) of
Day’s gardens intact.
“They masked it with greenery,”
Peter says, “so there were ewes
and boxwoods hiding the walls.”
“They added a layer of French for-
mality on the garden, with the allées
(corridors of trees) and the box-
woods, whereas the Day garden was
more Italianate (with axial layouts
and terrace) and had a more Arts and
Crafts feel (incorporating stone walls
and grottoes), says Sophia.”
An only child, Peter and his father
lived alone at Greenwood following
the early passing of his mother in
1956, when he was 5. Peter graduat-
ed from Princeton, received an MFA
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MAY 2017 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE
in Forestry from Yale and is now a
land conservationist. The solitary
nature of his childhood had its
benefits, “I love to draw and sketch,”
Peter says, “that time alone brought
out my creative side.”
During Peter’s childhood, the
estate was 100 acres. In the 1970s,
Peter’s father gave 53 acres to the
town, and it became Old Short Hills
Park.
As an adult, Peter’s father offered
him Greenwood Gardens to have as
his own family home.
“There is a theme of parents
offering their children something they
don’t necessarily want,” Peter says. “I
said, ‘I love it and am so grateful for
it, and I will protect it for the long
term, but I don’t think I will live
here.’ That coincided with my father’s
own plans to protect the place, so we
formed a nonprofit in 2003 after his
death.”
The Murphys’ involvement in the
project began in 2003. Rich had
worked as a landscape contractor at
Greenwood two years prior and when
Peter was assembling a staff, Rich
was the natural choice to lead it.
The Murphy’s moved into the
carriage house with their children
in 2003. Though they are the only
residents at Greenwood Gardens,
10 other staff members are employed
there.
There were many challenges to be
met in the transition from private
home to public estate, from larger
problems such as soil removal that
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