New Hampshire Gardens: Western Region

• Including tours of residential gardens in Gilsum, Hancock, Jaffrey, Peterborough, Spofford, Walpole, and Westmoreland

Please e-mail listings, preferably in the format below, to: [email protected].

Photos by The Fells

Heather bed at The Fells

Photos by The Fells

Historic estate with perennial border and Rhododendron maximum at The Fells

Photos by New Hampshire State Parks

Rhododendron maximum in bloom at Rhododendron State Park

Daily, YEAR ROUND, but best in mid-July

Rhododendron State Park

424 Rockwood Pond Road, Fitzwilliam

A National Natural Landmark, named for its 16-acre grove of Rhododendron maximum, the largest colony of wild rhododendrons in northern New England. The huge, centuries-old broadleaf evergreen shrubs—also known as rosebays or great laurel—are viewed from a nearly level, handicapped-accessible .6-mile trail. Rosebays are less showy than other rhodies—their white blossoms tend to be sparse—so try to visit only during their peak bloom period: mid-July. The adjacent .1-mile Laurel Trail curves through eponymous mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), another native broadleaf evergreen shrub with shiny leathery leaves; its exquisite white flowers bloom in June. The Wildflower Trail passes herbaceous perennials. $4 on summer weekends; otherwise free, but donations are welcome.
603-532-8862
www.nhstateparks.org

Photo by Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculpture and formal gardens

Photo by NPS/Don Freeman

Saint-Gaudens’ Standing Lincoln 

Photo by Shin-Boku

Dry garden at Shin-Boku

Daily, YEAR ROUND

Shin-boku Nursery

180 Beech Hill, Wentworth

Specializes in Japanese-style shin-boku: large, old needle-evergreen trees and shrubs carefully pruned—rather like giant bonsai—into beautiful picturesque shapes.  Some of these specimens are planted in the nursery’s exquisite “dry garden,” a classic Japanese landscape composition in which a large, irregular bed of pebbles represents a pond or other water body, handsome boulders represent islands or even mountains, the “water” is edged with graceful earth mounds, moss-covered rocks, evergreen shrubs, and stone sculpture and lanterns—which represent the higher landscape around the pond—and the entire composition is accessed by graceful bridges, each consisting of a single large piece of stone. (The Asticou Azalea Garden has a similar feature.) Free.
603-764-9993; best to call ahead
www.shin-bokunursery.com

Photo by Tracy Library

Garden at Tracy Library

Daily, YEAR ROUND

Garden at Tracy Library

304 Main Street, New London

The quadrilaterally symmetrical garden behind the public library, designed in 1926 by the Olmsted Brothers, features a square pool, with a bronze fountain, surrounded by lush perennial beds in neat parterres. Free.
603-526-4656
www.gardenattracy.org

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Gardens of Ellen & Bruce Clement, Westmoreland

JUNE 30, AUGUST 11, AUGUST 24

Garden Conservancy Open Days

9 private gardens in Gilsum, Hancock, Jaffrey, Peterborough, Spofford, Walpole, and Westmoreland open to the public as part of the Conservancy’s annual Open Days program

Admission is $10 per person per garden and by pre-registration only at www.garden conservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Boggy Meadow Farm

Sunday, JUNE 30, 10-4

Boggy Meadow Farm

Walpole

Overlooking the Connecticut River, the 3-acre garden features English borders, a handsome formal grape arbor, a sunken garden with imposing formal granite walls and stairs, and a narrow ravine with a stream. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Clement Garden

Sunday, JUNE 30, 12-4

Gardens of Ellen & Bruce Clement

Westmoreland

A rock garden, conifer garden, shade garden, a teahouse overlooking a small pond, and a stream with a lovely red arched bridge are among the features of this 2-acre site. There are many pleasing compositions of large, mature plants. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Shooting Star Farm

Sunday, JUNE 30, 10-4

Shooting Star Farm

Spofford

2-acre garden. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail

Distant Hill Gardens

Sunday, AUGUST 11, 10-4

Distant Hill Gardens of Michael & Kathy Nerrie

Walpole

2 “cultivated” acres, with hundreds of labeled perennials and shrubs, on a 58-acre site with—among other features—a wildflower meadow, a boardwalk over a floating cranberry bog, a mile-long wheelchair-accessible “nature trail,” and 3 miles of hiking trails, mainly in the surrounding woodlands. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Hollows End

Sunday, AUGUST 11, 10-4

Hollows End

Gilsum

Fulsome naturalistic 1-acre perennial and shrub garden with a gazebo. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Allée at Fry Garden

Sunday, AUGUST 24, 10-4

Fry Garden

High Street, Peterborough

One of the largest, most elaborate, and, no doubt, costliest private gardens in northern New England, the 9-acre site includes such striking features as a 300-foot sycamore allée, a 110-foot crabapple allée, an orchard of 20 fastigiate hornbeams, 2 ponds, and a woodland garden—to name just a few. The landscape is so rich that it takes several hours to give it the attention it deserves. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Gordon Garden

Sunday, AUGUST 24, 10-4

Michael and Betsy Gordon Garden

High Street, Peterborough

According to the Gordons, their in-town collector’s garden is a “mixture of unusual trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, annuals, and bulbs…selected primarily for interesting form, foliage, and texture.” The half-acre garden is laid out on three terraces beside their home. See: instagram.com/thegardenerseye for images. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Garden of Nan Quick

Photo by The Garden Conservancy

Skatutakee Farm

Sunday, AUGUST 24, 10-5

Skatutakee Farm

Hancock

Surrounding Hancock’s first dwelling—a farmhouse built in 1776—this 3½ -acre garden includes a 48-foot-long koi pond, extensive perennial beds, a vegetable garden, a woodland border, and a bog garden. Open by preregistration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.

Photos by The Garden Conservancy

Skatutakee Farm