Ropes Mansion

Unlike wanda e., the first Unilocaler of the Ropes Mansion who experienced the garden in full bloom in the later days of summer at the end of the day, I was a late morning visitor to this garden in late spring. Please forgive me, I am writing about this garden from the vantage point of the autumn after my visit. For a week of tourism, this was my neighborhood, amazingly enough. Thank you, Peabody Essex Institute for the management of this property. Such beauty!
For this garden, what season or what time of day isn’t an issue, what’s remarkable about this space is that is accessible to the public free of charge, year round. Enter, relax, enjoy. Even catching glimpses of the garden when walking past is fine, in my opinion. This is a garden within the context of a Colonial Revival mansion, a renovation from its Georgian Colonial self. The structure of this garden is one of formalism and symmetry, originally designed by John Robinson in 1912, almost a century ago. The mansion was moved away from the street in 1894.
I do enjoy the work of the one gardener in control of this garden. What I don’t know is whether that person has garden assistants. During my last visit, I observed the piles of bedding plants and such awaiting planting, but not a human being to be found. Poor timing, in terms of being able to ask questions.

Clearly, this garden is important to Salem residents. Anyone fortunate to spend time in Salem knows that having a place to decompress is essential and being able to be in such a splendid space is a wondrous experience. For me, this garden is one of the definitions of nirvana.

Ropes Mansion is absolutely beautiful. If you love photography, flowers, gardens or tranquility, this is a MUST SEE. The mansion itself is not open, but the garden is free & open for all to see. I went with my family & we loved it. We went about 6:30 in the evening & it was empty. Being a amateur photographer, I loved all the wonderful colors. I took about 75 shots there. A wonderful place to escape the maddening crowd & relax. If you are ever in Salem, I urge you to find time to tour the Mansion. It is located on Essex Street, just two doors up the block from the home of the judge who presided at the witch trials. The Ropes Mansion is located in the heart of the historic McIntire District. Many of Salem’s finest old homes can be seen here.