Beauty

(This is the seventh story by this journalist in an occasional series revealing “Hidden America” — worthy travel destinations unknown by most Americans.)

The New York metropolitan area is home to several renowned gardens, including the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. If you prefer walking through a small, unique garden with no admission charge and no one or few people nearby, consider the Cross Estate Gardens in Bernardsville, New Jersey, about 55 miles west of Brooklyn.

Cross Estate Gardens features formal and native gardens, a wisteria-covered pergola and a walkway lined with mountain