Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden
. . . including open gardens, public and private, as well as other noteworthy landscape- and garden-related events open to the public in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
The Corona virus is forcing many postponements, cancellations, and other changes. It’s always a good idea to confirm opening dates and times.
Gardens/Events Listed
Please e-mail listings, preferably in the format below, to: [email protected].
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Asticou Terraces, Route 3, Northeast Harbor, Me. Superb naturalistic landscape created by Boston landscape architect Joseph Henry Curtis at his former summer residence: A smooth half-mile path gently ascends a forested hillside, past handsome wood-and-stone gazebos with views of Northeast Harbor. The presence of only indigenous materials (granite, spruce trees, mosses, sheep laurel, and blueberry bushes) erases the line between the human-made and the natural. The path ends at the Thuya Lodge, Curtis’ summer home, and the Thuya Garden, described below. The Terraces are described at greater length, and illustrated with two color photographs, in The Woodland Garden. Donation requested.
207-276-3727
www.gardenpreserve.org
Monday-Friday, YEAR ROUND, tours at 10, 10:30, 11, 2, 2:30
Blaine House, State and Capitol Streets, Augusta, Me. Maine’s 19th-century governor’s mansion, surrounded by broad lawns edged with annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. Free. Admission on guided tours only; make reservations at mainestatemuseum.org/learn or 207-287-6634 at least 3 days in advance.
www.blainehouse.org
Daily, YEAR ROUND, any time
Castine Inn Garden, 33 Main Street, Castine, Me. A small (7,500-square-foot) garden, mainly mature perennials and shrubs, adjacent to the inn and nicely screened from the street by its taller plants. Free.
207-326-4365
www.castineinn.com
Daily, YEAR ROUND
College of the Atlantic, Route 3, Bar Harbor, Me. A formal perennial garden, the vestige of terraces designed by Beatrix Farrand, and other small gardens on the college’s 38-acre campus, once the site of three oceanside estates. Free.
207-288-5015
www.coa.edu/gardens/
Photo by Jennifer Steele
Fort Williams Park
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Fort Williams Park, 1000 Shore Road, Cape Elizabeth, Me. Naturalistic cliff-top gardens on a former military reservation overlooking the ocean, now owned by the town of Cape Elizabeth. In an ongoing restoration program led by the Friends of Fort Williams Park (sponsor of the Annual Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour), thickets of Japanese knotweed and other invasive exotic plants have been removed, thereby revealing native plants and picturesque ledges and opening up dramatic views of Casco Bay and Portland Head Lighthouse. Graceful plantings of native trees, shrubs, perennials, and ground covers are being added. Free.
207-767-3707
www.fortwilliams.org
Photo by Littlefield Garden
Trees in bloom at the Littlefield Garden
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Lyle E. Littlefield Ornamentals Trial Garden, University of Maine, Orono, Me. 4 acres of perennials, shrubs, and trees in formal and informal groupings. Free.
207-581-3112
www.umaine.edu/littlefieldgarden/
Photo by Merryspring Nature Center
Poppies and other perennials at Merryspring Nature Center
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Merryspring Nature Center, 30 Conway Road, Camden, Me. The 66-acre site features a daylily garden, herb garden, hosta garden, rock garden, and rose garden, plus annual and perennial beds and an arboretum. The office is open Tuesday-Friday, 9-2. Free but donations encouraged.
207-236-2239
www.merryspring.org
Photo by Pamela Hargest
Perennial displays at Tidewater Farm
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
University of Maine Gardens at Tidewater Farm, Farm Gate Road, Falmouth, Me. Large plots of vegetables and perennials, including All America selections, plus orchards and wildflower gardens, with views of the Presumpscott River. Free but donations welcome.
800-287-1471 (in Maine), 207-781-6099
www.extension.umaine.edu
Photo by Viles Arboretum
Sycamore trees at Viles Arboretum
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Viles Arboretum, 3 Hospital Street, Augusta, Me. The 224-acre site includes the largest public hosta garden in Maine, with more than 200 varieties; a rock garden with nearly 50 species; large collections of lilacs, conifers, chestnuts, sycamores, apples, and other trees; and the state’s largest permanent outdoor art collection, all accessed on 6 miles of trails. Many plants are labeled. The Visitor Center is open 10:30-4:30, Wednesday-Saturday. Free but donations welcome.
207-626-7989
www.vilesarboretum.org
Daily, YEAR ROUND
Wild Gardens of Acadia, Route 3, Acadia National Park, about 2 miles south of Bar Harbor. Three-quarter-acre collection of 400 plant species, mainly perennials, all native to Mount Desert, labeled and arranged in 12 distinctive habitats (mountain, meadow, bog, brookside, etc.); maintained by volunteers. Free.
800-625-0321; 207-288-3340
www.friendsofacadia.org
Photo by Woodlawn Museum
Black House and gardens, Woodlawn Museum
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Woodlawn Museum, Route 172, Ellsworth, Me. Beautiful brick Federal mansion with tall, elegant 18-pane windows (the Black House) on 180 acres with large old trees, perennial gardens, and a formal garden enclosed by a lilac hedge. Grounds free; house tours $15, Wednesday-Sunday, June-October.
207-667-8671
www.woodlawnmuseum.com
The house may be closed due to Covid-19.
Photos by The Fells
Historic estate with perennial border, Rhododendron maximum, and the heather bed at The Fells
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
The Fells, Route 103A, Newbury, N.H. Historic summer home of John Hay, secretary of state under presidents McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt; extensive gardens created by Hay’s son Clarence and Clarence’s wife, Alice, including a large hillside rock garden, walled gardens, perennial borders, and woodland gardens on 83 acres on lake Sunapee. $5-10. Main house and shop open weekends, spring and fall; Wednesday-Sunday in the summer.
603-763-4789
www.thefells.org
Hamilton House and gardens
Daily, YEAR ROUND, gardens open dawn to dusk; hourly house tours Friday-Sunday, June 2-October 15
Hamilton House, 40 Vaughan’s Lane, South Berwick, Me. Impressive 1785 Georgian mansion overlooking the Salmon Falls River with formal shrub and perennial gardens and fountains. Gardens free. House tours $15.
207-384-2454
www.historicnewengland.org
Daily, YEAR ROUND, gardens open dawn to dusk; hourly house tours Friday-Sunday, June 2-October 15
Governor John Langdon House & Gardens, 143 Pleasant Street, Portsmouth, N.H. Enclosed by thick hedges, the expansive lawn of this elaborate late-18th-century Georgian mansion includes lilacs, perennial borders, and—most notably—a 100-foot-long arbor covered with grape vines and climbing roses. When the roses bloom, the arbor is a 10-foot-high, 10-foot-wide tunnel of blossoms. Gardens free. House tours $15.
603-436-3205
www.historicnewengland.org
Photos by Beaver Brook Association
Shade and Fragrance gardens at Maple Hill Gardens
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Maple Hill Gardens, 117 Ridge Road, Hollis, N. H. 13 “theme” gardens, both formal and informal, with more than 350 shade-tolerant or sun-loving species, mainly perennials, planted around the Beaver Brook Association’s headquarters buildings. Free.
603-465-7787
www.beaverbrook.org
Photos by Pickety Place
Pink aliums in the gardens at Pickety Place
Daily, YEAR ROUND, 10-5, April-December; 10-4, January-March
Pickity Place, 248 Nutting Hill Road, Mason, N.H. An adorable 18th-century Cape surrounded by vast, well-established garden beds, mainly perennials and herbs. The herbs are served in the restaurant’s 5-course lunches.
603-878-1151
www.picketyplace.com
Photo by Prescott Park
Lush flower beds at Prescott Park
Daily, YEAR ROUND
Prescott Park, Marcy Street, Portsmouth, N.H. City-owned waterfront park with three fountains and well-designed flower gardens: Brick paths curve around billowing beds of (mainly) annuals, each variety planted in a large stunning sweep. Free.
603-610-7208
www.cityofportsmouth.com/prescottpark
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, N. H. 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
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Saint-Gaudens Road, Cornish, N.H. Historic home and studios of noted sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Grounds include his sculptures and formal gardens with fountains and pools, enclosed by tall clipped evergreen hedges. Buildings open Memorial Day weekend – October 31. $10.
603-675-2175
www.nps.gov/saga
Daily, YEAR ROUND
Shin-boku Nursery, 230 Beech Hill, Wentworth, N. H., 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, N. H. 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 Hildene
Elaborate formal gardens at Hildene
Thursday-Monday YEAR ROUND (except Easter, Thanksgiving, and December 24-26), 10-4:30
Hildene, Route 7A, Manchester, Vt. A stunning Georgian Revival mansion built by Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham Lincoln to live to adulthood. In the broad terrace in front of the home, a tapestry of perennial beds is framed by an elaborate formal network of privet hedges. $23.
800-578-1788
www.hildene.org
Photo by Shelburne Farms
Symmetrical terrace gardens overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains at Shelburne Farms
Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk
Shelburne Farms, 1611 Harbor Rd., Shelburne, Vt. Gilded Age estate of the Webb family, now a large non-profit working farm and opulent inn and restaurant with restored formal gardens: symmetrical terraces, supported by elegant balustraded brick and stone walls, on a slope on the edge of Lake Champlain. The long, narrow terraces are planted with neat groups of (mainly) perennials. Like a villa on Lake Como, the view from the lawn above the terraces is an extraordinary use of “borrowed” lake-and-mountain scenery. A long balustrade is the base of a stunning view: a vast expanse of the region’s largest lake, with the Adirondacks—the highest mountains in New York State—rising to the horizon on the far side. Free but donation requested.
802-985-8686
www.shelburnefarms.org
Photos by Pineland Farms
Gardens at Pineland Farms
Daily, SPRING-FALL, 8 am-dusk
Pineland Farms, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester, Me. Formerly a state hospital for the mentally disabled, now owned by the non-profit Libra Foundation, the posh, well-groomed 5,000-acre complex includes a garden with 34 varieties of lilacs; a “Great Lawn” with water features, sweeps of daffodils and tulips, large annual beds, and distant views of the White Mountains; and a 1-acre garden with 6,000 annuals, 130 varieties of perennials, herb and vegetable gardens, conifer and blueberry beds, and an allée of 20 apple trees, all accessed on a quarter-mile of paved walkways. Free.
207-688-4539
www.pinelandfarms.org
Photo by Cady’s Falls Botanical Garden
Rock garden at Cady’s Falls Botanical Garden
Daily, SPRING-FALL, 10-5
Cady’s Falls Botanical Garden, 6637 Duhamel Road, Morrisville, Vt. For decades Cady’s Falls Nursery was distinguished by its extensive selection of home-grown trees, shrubs, and perennials, many of them rare, and by its lush, graceful naturalistic display gardens. Don and Lela Avery no longer sell plants, but their gardens remain open by donation.
802-888-5559
www.cadysfallsgarden.com
Photo by Vermont Horticultural Farm
Giant rhododendrons at the Vermont Horticultural Farm
Monday-Friday, APRIL-NOVEMBER, 8-4
University of Vermont Horticultural Farm, 65 Green Mountain Road, South Burlington, Vt. Large collections of mature ornamental plants, including more than 15 species of rhododendrons and native azaleas, which bloom in late May/early June; more than 100 lilacs, including 46 different varieties, which bloom in May; rare conifers and other shrubs; plus large perennial beds. A free map identifies the collections, which include some of the largest specimens in Vermont. Free.
802-658-9166
www.fhfvt.org
Photos by Ogunquit Museum of American Art
Garden at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art
Daily, APRIL 29-NOVEMBER 12, 10-5
Ogunquit Museum of American Art, 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit, Me. A collection of outdoor sculpture is displayed in a 3-acre seaside garden of mixed perennials, shrubs, and trees. $15.
207-646-4909
www.ogunquitmuseum.org
Photo by the Land & Garden Preserve
Asticou Azalea Garden
Daily, MAY-AUGUST, 10-6; SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 10-5
Asticou Azalea Garden, intersection of Routes 3 and 198, Northeast Harbor, Me. Serene, naturalistic 2.3-acre Japanese-inspired garden created by the amateur landscape designer Charles K. Savage; mainly evergreen trees and shrubs, including rhododendrons and azaleas taken from Reef Point, the former estate of the noted landscape architect Beatrix Farrand in Bar Harbor. Many of the plants are arranged along a stream and around two ponds. There’s also a Japanese-style raked-sand “pond” garden with rock “islands.” Peak azalea bloom is late June; rhododendrons and mountain laurel are most colorful in July. Suggested donation: $5.
207-276-3727
www.gardenpreserve.org
Photo by Longfellow Garden Club
Longfellow House Garden
Daily, MAY-OCTOBER, 10-5
Longfellow House, 489 Congress Street, Portland, Me. Long, narrow garden of perennials, shrubs, and deciduous trees beside an early-19th-century brick townhouse that was the childhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and is now the headquarters of the Maine Historical Society. The garden is maintained by the Longfellow Garden Club. Free.
207-774-1822
www.longfellowgardenclub.org
Photos by Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Giles Rhododendron & Perennial Garden and Lerner Garden of the Five Senses at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Daily, May 1 – OCTOBER 2, 9-5
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, off Route 27, Boothbay, Me. One of northern New England’s newest public gardens, but already its largest and most elaborate—and getting more extensive every year. It already includes vast display gardens and a large woodland rhododendron collection surrounding an impressive waterfall. $22. Advance admission tickets required.
207-633-8000
www.mainegardens.org
Photo by Kirkwood Gardens
Kirkwood Gardens
Daily, MAY 1-NOVEMBER 1, dawn to dusk
Kirkwood Gardens, Route 3, just north of Route 113, Holderness, N. H. Informal 1-acre garden, now owned by the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, with graceful plantings of both sun-loving and shade-tolerant annuals, perennials, and shrubs; plus fountains, sculpture, and signs describing the plants. Free.
603-968-7194
www.nhnature.org/visit/kirkwood_gardens.php
Photos by Strawbery Banke
Ethnobotanical Herb Garden and Thomas Bailey Aldrich Memorial Garden at Strawbery Banke
Daily, MAY 1-OCTOBER 31, 10-5
Strawbery Banke, 14 Hancock Street, Portsmouth, N.H. 37 historic houses and other buildings, many of them restored, spanning more than 3 centuries. The 10-acre site includes 9 small gardens, mostly herbs and perennials (including heirloom species), reflecting plants and garden styles popular in different eras; plus 3 heirloom orchards. $19.50 for 2 consecutive days.
603-433-1100
www.strawberybanke.org
Photos by Shelburne Museum
Spring blossoms, day lilies, and perennial beds at Shelburne Museum
Tuesday-Sunday, May 13-October 22, 10-5
Shelburne Museum, 6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, Vt. 22 small gardens, mostly perennials, plus many lilacs and mature trees decorate one of New England’s largest collections of historic buildings and other artifacts. 2-day admission: $25 from May 1 to October 31 ($15 for Vermont residents), $10 from November 1 to April 30.
802-985-3346
www.shelburnemuseum.org/gardens-and-landscape; the “museum from above” video is a graceful aerial tour of the museum’s 45-acre campus.
Photo by McLaughlin Garden & Homestead
Rhododendrons in the McLaughlin Garden
Daily, MAY 14 – OCTOBER 31, dawn to dusk
McLaughlin Garden & Homestead, 97 Main Street (Route 26), South Paris, Me. A 3½-acre collection of perennials, trees, and shrubs—especially lilacs—planted by the late Bernard McLaughlin at his former home. Buildings closed Mondays. $5 suggested donation.
207-743-8820
www.mclaughlingarden.org
Photo by Charlotte Rhoades Park & Butterfly Garden.
Charlotte Rhoades Park & Butterfly Garden.
Daily, MID-MAY—MID-OCTOBER, dawn to dusk
Charlotte Rhoades Park & Butterfly Garden, Route 102, Southwest Harbor, Me. Lush, well-maintained one-acre seaside garden, mainly of annuals and perennials (including milkweed) that attract monarchs and other butterflies. $5 suggested donation per family.
207-244-9264
www.rhoadesbutterflygarden.org
Photo by Fuller Gardens
Roses at Fuller Gardens
Daily, MID-MAY—MID-OCTOBER, 10-5:30
Fuller Gardens, 10 Willow Avenue, off Ocean Boulevard (Route 1A), North Hampton, N.H. Early-20th-century ocean-side Olmsted-designed estate gardens created by businessman, philanthropist, and former Massachusetts governor Alvan T. Fuller, with rose gardens, conservatory, annual displays, small Japanese garden, and walled perennial garden. $10.
603-964-5414
www.fullergardens.org
Wednesday-Sunday, MID-MAY—MID-OCTOBER, 11-4
Old Stone House Museum. The lovely historic hamlet of Brownington, Vt., is a collection of attractive early 19th-century buildings and a 25-by-50-foot formal garden of perennials and herbs popular in the 1800s. $10.
802-754-2022
www.oldstonehousemuseum.org
MAY 17 – OCTOBER 9, Tuesday-Friday and first and third weekends of each month, 10-4
Bedrock Gardens, 19 High Road, Lee, N.H. A large, lively collection of plants, garden follies, and contemporary sculpture by garden co-creator Jill Nooney arranged across 30 acres of a former dairy farm. $15 suggested donation.
603-659-2993
www.bedrockgardens.org
Photo by Brian Jones
Braveboat Harbor Farm
Saturday-Sunday, MAY 20-21, 10-4
Garden Conservancy Open Days. The Conservancy opens exceptional private gardens to the public in its annual Open Days program. The Conservancy seeks to preserve America’s outstanding gardens and open them permanently, usually as non-profit organizations. The Fells was one of its first preservation projects. Evergreen, now a non-profit public garden, was an Open Days garden from 2010 to 2017. There are a total of 19 Open Gardens in Northern New England this year.
Admission is by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org. $10 per person per garden.
* Braveboat Harbor Farms, York, Me. Extensive formal and informal perennial gardens, a woodland garden, two ponds, an orchard, a vegetable garden, espaliered apple and pear trees, and collections of rhododendrons, magnolias, and other flowering trees and shrubs, all surrounding a Georgian stone house with views of the Atlantic. Also open July 22-23
603-497-8020
Sunday, MAY 21, 3 openings: 10-2, 12-2 & 2-4
* Home of Robin & Larry Turnbaugh, Chesterfield, N. H. A linear infinity pool both points to and borrows its aerial view of Spofford Lake and Mount Monadnock to create a stunning mountain-and-water vista. It’s one of several Monadnock views. This exceptional garden includes more than 100 rhododendrons, some rare, which bloom from April to June. A large naturalistic woodland garden displays both exotic and native plants, including rhododendrons, mountain laurel, and carpets of moss and evergreen partridgeberry (Mitchella repens). Spring bulbs and annual and perennial beds provide color from spring through fall. Admission is by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Daily, LATE MAY, dawn to dusk
Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion, 375 Little Harbor Road, Portsmouth, N. H. Common lilacs (Syringa vulgaris), planted in the mid-1700s by the colonial governor Benning Wentworth, are at peak bloom. Free.
603-436-2233
www.wentworthcoolidge.org
Photos by Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden
Moffatt-Ladd Garden
JUNE 1 – MID-OCTOBER, Friday-Monday, 11-4
Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden, 154 Market Street, Portsmouth, N.H. Elaborate 3-story colonial Georgian mansion with lush, terraced perennial gardens on the slope behind it, plus a gigantic horse chestnut tree—50-plus feet high and wide—planted by William Whipple after he signed the Declaration of Independence. $10 for house and gardens; $2 for gardens only.
603-436-8221, 603-430-7968
www.moffattladd.org
Photo by Eileen Oktavec
Massed Catawba rhododendrons at Evergreen
Friday-Sunday, JUNE 2-4, 10-5
Evergreen, 42 Summer Street, Goffstown, N.H. The one-acre woodland garden’s annual public opening is always on the first weekend in June, when its sweeps of 220 Catawba rhododendrons are at or near peak bloom. Free.
603-497-8020
www.evergreenfoundationnh.org
Sunday, JUNE 4, 10-4
Garden Conservancy Open Day, Hinesburg, Vt.
* The Hidden Gardens of Lewis Creek Road. An immense collection of shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and other plants on two levels, connected by a cascading stream with stone bridges. The garden includes pools, two ponds, and extensive stone work.
* Lincoln Hill Botanical Gardens. More than 100 varieties of mature rhododendrons, azaleas, and mountain laurel—one of the largest collections in Vermont—grown by the landscape designer Paul Wieczoreck, plus many conifers and other specimen trees and shrubs, and extensive alpine rock gardens. The rock-and-plant compositions around the residence are exceptional.
Admission to both gardens by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Photo by Eileen Oktavec
Sweeps of Catawba rhododendrons in bloom at the Birchwood
Friday-Sunday, JUNE 9-11, 10-5
The Birchwood, 3217 Hazen’s Notch Road, Montgomery Center, Vt. The second major woodland garden created by landscape designer Robert Gillmore opens for the first time when nearly 700 of its more than 1,200 rhododendrons are in bloom. $7, to benefit the Friends of the Montgomery Library.
603-497-8020
www.evergreenfoundationnh.org
Gardens of Gordon and Mary Hayward
Sunday, JUNE 17, 10-4
* Little Brook Farm, Jaffrey, N. H., open 10-4. Mowed fields with informal gardens of shrubs, annuals, and perennials—especially peonies—often arranged along the remains of old stone walls. There’s also a small swimming pond.
* Gardens of Ellen & Bruce Clement, Westmoreland, N. H., open 10-4. 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 20-acre hillside. There are many pleasing compositions of large, mature plants.
* Garden of Gordon and Mary Hayward, Westminster West, Vt., open 10-3. The lush 1½-acre landscape surrounds a restored late-18th-century farmhouse and includes informal collections of perennials, trees, and shrubs planted within formal parterres. The gardens also offer charming naturalistic rooms and other vignettes, picturesque furniture and sculpture, and views of surrounding meadows. The landscape is featured in one of the Haywards’ books, The Intimate Garden, and on their website, www.haywardgardens.com.
Admission to the gardens by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Photo by the Land & Garden Preserve
Thuya Garden
Wednesday-Sunday, JUNE 17-OCTOBER 2, 11-6 (11-5 SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER)
Thuya Garden, Route 3, Northeast Harbor, Me. Mostly formal, straight-sided beds of perennials and annuals surrounded by a rolling lawn, with informal groups of trees and shrubs at the edge of the forest, which surrounds the one-acre garden. Like the Asticou Azalea Garden, it was created by Charles K. Savage with plants taken from the former Bar Harbor estate of Beatrix Farrand. Thuya, incidentally, is the phonetic spelling of Thuja, the scientific name for cedar (Thuja occidentalis), which thrives on Mount Desert Island and which was used to build the Thuya Lodge. Suggested donation: $5.
207-276-3727
www.gardenpreserve.org
Photo by Patrick Chassé
Heather Garden at Garland Farm
Thursdays, JUNE 22 – SEPTEMBER 21, 1-4
Garland Farm, 475 Bay View Drive (off Route 3), Bar Harbor, Me. Home and gardens of noted landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (designer of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden and other gardens on Mount Desert Island). Mainly perennial beds in symmetrical parterres, including heather, heath, and lavender gardens. $5 suggested donation.
207-288-0237
www.beatrixfarrandsociety.org
Celia Thaxter’s Island Garden
Fridays, Saturdays, JUNE 23, 30, JULY 7, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28, 30, AUGUST 4; 9-3:30
Celia Thaxter’s Garden Tours. Poppies, hollyhocks and other venerable perennials first planted by the romantic poet Celia Thaxter at her family’s summer hotel on Appledore Island, one of the Isles of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast. Thaxter described her 15-foot-by-50-foot garden in An Island Garden, published in 1893 and illustrated by the impressionist painter Childe Hassam—one of Thaxter’s many distinguished guests, who included such 19th-century literati as Emerson, Hawthorne, and Longfellow. The island’s Shoals Marine Laboratory offers day cruises from New Castle, N.H., including a guided tour and “gourmet” lunch, for $120.
603-862-5346
www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org
Saturday, JUNE 24, 10-4
* Beckett Castle Rose Garden, Cape Elizabeth, Me.: 70 varieties of heirloom roses beside a 19th-century stone mansion with a 3-story tower on the edge of the Atlantic. It’s now a non-profit performing arts center (www.hogfish.org).
* The Accidental Garden, Nashua, N. H. A lawn is slowly being replaced by perennials, ornamental grasses, and trees and shrubs with colorful foliage, including purple beeches, Japanese maples, ninebarks, and redbuds.
Admission to the gardens by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* The Big Little Garden, Nashua, N. H. Like the Accidental Garden (above), the lawn on a 1/4-acre lot is slowly being replaced, in this garden by a large, diverse collection of native and non-native perennials, ornamental grasses, and shrubs.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Garden by the Pond, Brookline, N. H. This property borrows pretty views of a small pond with a waterfall and a fetching low-arched Monet bridge, all surrounded by mature woods,. The garden includes 3 bridges over a small stream, a rose garden, a fern garden, a gazebo, and a greenhouse.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Gardens of Yvonne Casimir, Milford, N. H. A large, lush 2-acre collection of mature perennials and shrubs, including a rock garden, rose garden, hydrangea garden, and hosta garden with more than 100 varieties.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Peace on Earth, Goffstown, N. H. According to the owner: “Two acres of beautiful lawn, trees, perennials, stone walls, pergola with grape vines, barn, fenced-in blueberry patch, vegetable garden, gazebo, and more.”
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Wednesday, JULY 1, 10-4
Annual Granite VNA and Hospice Home and Garden Tour. 4 properties in the Wolfeboro-Tuftonboro, N.H., area. $20.
800-924-8620, 603-230-5664
www.granitevna.org
Photo by the Land & Garden Preserve
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden
Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday, JULY 11 – SEPTEMBER 19, 12-4
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden. Designed by the wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the noted landscape architect Beatrix Farrand at the former Rockefeller estate in Seal Harbor, Me. Large perennial beds in curving, symmetrical parterres; extensive Asian statuary and moon gates; ocean views. Guided half-hour tours, by reservation only. $15.
207-276-3727
www.gardenpreserve.org
Photo by Friends of Fort Williams Park
Seaside garden on the Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour
Saturday, JULY 15, 9-4
12th Annual Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour. 10 private gardens on Cape Elizabeth and South Portland, Me. Sponsored by the Friends of Fort Williams Park. $40; $30 if tickets are bought before the tour date.
207-767-3707
www.fortwilliams.org
Palace Theatre Garden Tour
Saturday, JULY 15, 10-3
Palace Theatre’s 4th Annual Garden Tour, Manchester, N.H. 8 private residential gardens in New Hampshire’s largest city. $30; $25 if tickets are bought before the tour date.
603-668-5588
www.palacetheatre.org
Daily, MID-JULY
Rhododendron State Park. The 16-acre grove of Rhododendron maximum is at peak bloom. See more here.
www.nhstateparks.org
Photo by the Camden Garden Club
Oceanfront garden on Camden Garden Club Tour
Thursday, JULY 20, 9:30-4
75th Camden Garden Club Tour. 6 private gardens in Camden, Me. $40; $35 if tickets are bought before the tour date.
www.camdengardenclub.org
Saturday, AUGUST 12, 10-4
* Pondfield, York, Me. Well-groomed, well-designed slope-side perennial gardens frame a view of a tidal pond and the York River.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Friday, JULY 21, 9:30-4:30
‘The Sea Around Us.’ Tour of 4 homes and 2 gardens in Maine’s Boothbay Region, sponsored by the Boothbay Region Garden Club. $35; $30 if tickets are bought before the tour date.
207-633-7405, 207-633-5052
www.boothbayregiongardenclub.org
Saturday, JULY 22, 10-4
* A Cape Neddick Garden, Cape Neddick, Me. A huge, sprawling ocean-side mansion landscaped with shrub-and-perennial beds, ponds, and a handsome rock-bound cascading stream crossed with stone bridges. greenhouse.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Photo by Brian Jones
Braveboat Harbor Farm
Saturday-Sunday, JULY 22-23, 10-4
* Braveboat Harbor Farms, York, Me. Extensive formal and informal perennial gardens, a woodland garden, two ponds, an orchard, a vegetable garden, espaliered apple and pear trees, and collections of rhododendrons, magnolias, and other flowering trees and shrubs, all surrounding a Georgian stone house with views of the Atlantic. Also open May 20-21
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
Friday, SEPTEMBER 8, 4:30-7:30; Saturday, SEPTEMBER 9, 10-4
34th Annual Pocket Gardens of Portsmouth Tour. 9 private gardens in Portsmouth, N.H., $25; $20 if tickets are bought before the tour weekend.
603-436-4762
www.southchurch-uu.org
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 23, 10-4
* Duck Soup, Harrisville, N. H. Large, old, informal perennial gardens surrounded by forest, with many stone walls and other rock work and a view of Mount Monadnock.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Garden of Amy & Tim Riley, Peterborough, N. H. A semicircular peastone terrace overlooks a sloping meadow planted with ornamental trees and perennial beds and surrounded by woods. The 1.5 acre gardens include three sculptures by local artists.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Garden of Michael and Betsy Gordon, Peterborough, N. H. This super collector’s garden is chock-full of, in the words of their creators, a “mixture of unusual trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, annuals, and bulbs…selected primarily for interesting form, foliage, and texture.” It’s laid out on three terraces next to their village home. For pictures see: instagram.com/thegardenerseye.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Monadnock Vistas, Peterborough, N. H. This 65-acre ridge-top property has views of both Monadnock and Pack Monadnock mountains. The lawn around the Cape-style residence has been replaced by sweeps of perennials, ornamental grasses, and low shrubs. These and other plantings create blossom color from spring through fall. The extensive grounds include a vegetable garden, orchard, grape arbor, pond, and swimming pool.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.
* Skatutakee Farm, Hancock, N. H. Surrounding Hancock’s first dwelling—a farmhouse built in 1776—the garden includes a 48-foot-long koi pond, extensive perennial beds, a vegetable garden, a woodland border, and a bog garden.
Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org.