You & Your Fave Jackie O Fan Can Tour The Scenic Estate & Gardens Where She Made Her Debut

If you haven’t been to Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth in a while (or ever), you’ll want to pencil it into your August or Sepember 2019 agenda.

Sure there are scenic paths and herb, vegetable, & flower gardens (Hellooo, super famous topiaries! For the record, it’s the oldest topiary garden of its kind in the entire United States.) to explore on the 7 acre estate overlooking Narragansett Bay, but did you know that there’s als a Jackie O. connection?

*PS ~ They also grow over 1K pounds of veggies a year that are then donated to local charities benefiting women and children. (Something Jackie would definitely approve of.)

This giraffe is one of the favorites at GATG, others include a camel, an elephant, and two teddy bears.

Yes, the surroundings are stunning and it’s a fantastic spot for reconnecting with the natural world.

Especially important if you're suffering from a serious case of work + life overload right now.

And there’s that Jackie Kennedy Onassis  connection, for all you fans of the late First Lady turned style icon and later, book editor in NYC during the late 1970’s thru the early 90’s. (Speaking of which, Carly Simon has gone and written a new memoir all about her friendship with Jackie during her New York years - when Jackie actually had a hand in editing Carly’s series of children’s books and the two ended up becoming close friends - that’s scheduled for release this Fall. Adding it to my autumnal reading list as we speak.)

There’s also a lovely porch where you can sit or rock and gaze out at the gorgeous grounds.

Okay, so Alice Brayton - the daughter of Thomas E. Brayton, who purchased the property back in 1872 as a summer place for his family - apparently loved to entertain.

It was she who during the 1947-48 season hosted a coming out party for the then Jacqueline Bouvier, the debutante who went on to meet and marry the man who would become the 35th President of the United States - and ultimately become one of the most high profile and highly regarded First Ladies in history. Kind of a big deal, right? (Alice and her manse and gardens also played host to other famous people over the years, including another First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower.)

So, throw on your oversized sunnies (Everyone needs at least one pair in their sunglass rotation.) and maybe some white jeans, another of Jackie’s signatures, and motor on over to GATG this season.

For more details, go to newportmansions.org. For the record, it’s not as opulent as most of the other properties under the Newport Mansions umbrella, but when Alice passed away in 1974, she did leave the entire estate to The Preservation Society of Newport County.

*Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of @PattyJDotCom

**This post has been updated and revised from one that appeared here previously.