Beverly Estate's Gardens Named One of 12 Perfect Picnic Spots

The gardens at Long Hill estate in Centerville have been named one of 12 "perfect spots" to have a picnic in New England.

The rankings are included in the August 2014 issue of Yankee Magazine. In it, the magazine says the gardens are "designed as a series of 'rooms,' offering private corners bordered by perennial gardens, flowering shrubs, statuary and exotic trees."

The property is owned by the Trustees of the Reservations and serves as its Northeast Region Office. It is open to the public for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Long Hill is at 572 Essex St. (Route 22) just south of the Wenham town line in the Centerville neighborhood of Beverly.

Also included on the list of top picnic spots is Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox plus Mount Willard in Carroll, N.H., Crescent Beach State park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine and Hildene in Manchester, Vt.