Today, the private garden is open on Thursdays for tours at 11:00, 12:30, and 2:00. Reservations and a $20 fee are available online at thebluegarden.org/visiting.
The Blue Garden was a garden room on a 30-acre estate designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr, for Arthur Curtiss James and his wife Harriet. The garden opened in 1913 and was known for its distinctive color palette of blues, purples, and whites. The owners died in 1941 and the property suffered from neglect and the ravages of time. The property was purchased by developers in the 1970s and subdivided into eight lots, one of which retained the remnants of the Blue Garden. In 2014 the garden reopened after a complete restoration made possible by Dorrance H. Hamilton, a summer Newport resident, philanthropist, and garden enthusiast.