What gardens would you visit in New York?

My family and I are going to be visiting Syracuse, New York the first week of June. We have decided to have one day for each of us to visit something we are interested in and I of course would love to see a beautiful garden. We will go see Niagara Falls at some point during the trip. Is there a garden between Niagara and Syracuse or within a few hours of either that you would recommend?

Rochester NY has some lovely gardens.....that's between your 2 destinations.....my niece has taken me to a famous cemetery there as well as botanical gardens.....There's a lilac festival with Father Fialas hybrids, but that's past.....

Sorry I didn't see this sooner - how was the trip?

Rochester has a wonderful collection of Ollmsted-designed parks. The one Robindog referred to is Highland Park, which used to be a nursery back in the day before the transformation to a park in the late 19th century. Great old magnolias there, too.

Durand-Eastman Park, right on Lake Ontario at Rochester, is an excellent arboretum park, with a woody plant collection unrivaled in upstate New York. Well, maybe the Cornell Plantations in Ithaca will give it a run (also worth a visit).

Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY, at the head of Canandaigua Lake, is probably the best known formal gardens in the area.

I just happened upon this thread. Thanks for the lists. Although it will be November, I plan to visit the finger lakes. Any indoor botanical gardens will also be of interest. I was also thinking of looking up the Cornell ornithology lab since their online information is so good, and of course, birds need plants..

Some indoor institutions around the Finger Lakes that sample various elixirs borne of Vitis vinifera collections come to mind...

We really liked Heron Hill - I think they are located around Keuka Lake.