Three Ponds

As befits the costliest home in the Northeast in 2005 (not to mention the U.S.), Three Ponds has a lot going for it. The main house, designed in a grand traditional style, totals about 25,000 square feet and has a curved living room with soaring ceilings. The grounds include far more than rolling lawns and trimmed hedges—there's a U.S. Golf Association-rated course designed by Rees Jones, a pro shop and a grass tennis court. The 14 gardens include vegetable, rose, hydrangea and butterfly plantings. There's also a 75-foot-long pool, barns, a guest cottage, fish house, orangery and three ponds stocked with fish. The property is listed with Susan Breitenbach at Allan M. Schneider & Associates.