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Benjamin T. Fairchild developed the Fairchild Garden as a wildflower sanctuary on abandoned farmland he purchased in 1890. After his death in 1939, Mrs. Elon Huntington Hooker, with the help of local garden clubs, raised the money to purchase the sanctuary. It was donated to the National Audubon Society in 1945. It is not a formal garden, but a natural area, with introduced wildflower species and some interesting rocks into the landscape. The unique feature of this 135-acre sanctuary is its variety of wetland habitats. These include a stream, pond, wetland meadow, red maple swamp, hillside wetland, emergent freshwater marsh and a wetland scrub thicket. The sanctuary also boasts eight miles of trails winding through deep shady gorges under cover of mature deciduous forest, and a grove of white pines. The Fairchild Wildflower Garden becomes a birding hot spot in the late spring and early summer seasons.

The entrance, with a small parking lot and a portable toilet, is on North Porchuck Road, 0.5 miles east of Riversville Road. It is located just a few blocks south of the main Greenwich Center.

The Fairchild Garden contains a red maple swamp, a freshwater pond, a hillside wetland, wetland meadow, wetland scrub thicket, emergent freshwater marsh, surface stream and a mature oak-beech-maple forest and includes many beautiful granite outcrops and deep shady ravines. There are vernal ponds, healthy streams, and a grove of white pine. Most of the wildlife found at the main Center property can also be seen here.

The open wetland meadows support a stunning array of associated plant species, including tussock sedge, cattails, and pink lady slipper orchids. This area is known as an excellent birding spot, especially during spring and fall migration.

Click here for a trail map.

The sanctuaries of Audubon Greenwich are open from dawn to dusk.
Please help us preserve them by observing our rules:
take only photos, leave only footprints,
keep on the trails, leave bikes and pets at home.
Do not disturb the animals. Do not pick plants or wildflowers.