Hudson Gardens Vision Plan

I like the lilly pad garden and new stream addition.

I would like to see more walking trails.

I like that it is free. The displays were well done. It is large enough for seniors to enjoy.

I can't think of anything to add or improve.

I like that Hudson Gardens is open to the public at no charge! All the different areas: bees, water, etc. The Haloween event was great!

I would like to see community events in the garden-yoga? classes.

Ilike everyting about Hudson Gardens. I take tours on CWAL trishaws 2-3x's per week.

I would like to see more concerts.

It's beautiful family entertainment!

Would like to see more parking!

Like Bees!

More concerts. Allow people to dance in "front" of stage. VIP is lame.

We like the miniature trains, free admission, beautiful plants year-round.

Not much to improve. We would like a shaded "play" area.

I like that there are restrooms in the garden and it's clean here. Everything is perfect here!

We like the trains, it's clean, free admission, seasonal activities.

We would like to see more public restrooms.

Hudson Gardens is a beautiful place to walk. Kid friendly. We like that it's free. Sometiems it is too muddy.

We like the events and the ability to take family photos. We would like to see beekeeping events.

Our family has so many special memories at Hudson Gardens over the past 14 years! The scavenger hunt and train garden are wonderful for kids. The holiday lights are our New Years Eve tradition. Strolling through on Mother's Day is another tradition (maybe you could have live music playing that day?). The summer concerts were so much fun, please bring them back.
My only complaint is that some of the botanical areas seem to be getting run-down over the years and too much focus is being placed on special events. For example, the little area on the south side that was a "plant zoo" with cat tails and lambs ear was so cute to explore with kids but eventually became neglected. Also, I would love to see more flowers and benches along the way.

"Vision Plan will enhance the gardens as a destination for celebrations and events, expand offerings, and ensure long-term sustainability."
1. I don't agree that Hudson Gardens needs to push itself as a destination for "celebrations and events". I don't need SSPRD to own/run a wedding venue.
2. Magic of Jack O lanterns seemed to be a money grab by the 3rd party company, and way too expensive. I hope SSSPRD made a huge fee/profit from it. And is not just lending the Gardens to commercial companies for the other companies to make money.
3. I would like to see better and more impressive plant displays. Even in the peak of bloom, I am underwhelmed by the plant life.
4. Bring back concerts. Keep as GA. I expect prices to be lower than average because my tax dollars are already paying for the venue.

Bring back the concerts! It was wonderful taking the kids to see some memorable acts there. They still talk about Weird Al to this day!

What happened to the live concerts. Please bring them back.

Bring back Sunday concerts. We loved both local and national concerts. So much money was spent on creating and improving the venue only for it to disappear.

Please resume concerts. They were so much fun and the community had the opportunity to learn about the gardens. Hopefully, they paid for themselves and generated income for the gardens

There need to be more seating, especially for seniors. Sometimes there is one bench but there should be more. If we go with another couple only 2 people can stop to rest and visit. Senior citizens can only walk a short distance before needing to rest. There are no seats by the RR. And around the rose garden. And on the walk from the RR to Nixons.

Concerts, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please bring back the summer concerts. Clearly there is an avalanche of people wanting this. Moreover, I reached out to each person who recently ran for election of an SSPRD board seat and they all responded that they would work hard to get the concerts back. That promise has gone nowhere and it's a bummer that updates about challenges faced or progress made have not been communicated. There have been mention of excuses like the person who did that retired or Covid blew up the industry for booking shows. Please pivot and get something done besides the Sterne Park shows that have horrendous sound quality (but definitely better than nothing). If money is the issue, charge more for the shows. I'm sure there are plenty of people in the area willing to donate their time to help get the concerts organized if help is what is needed. I would be the first to volunteer. I talk to a lot of local folks who badmouth SSPRD leadership. Their handling of the concert series at Hudson Gardens has a lot to do with formulation of those opinions.