-
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, sharing, and celebrating America’s gardens, will continue its Open Garden Days with two garden tours in Ashfield and a workshop on stone walls in Plainfield. -
Two private residential gardens will be open for tours on Saturday.
Two Ashfield residents will be opening their gardens to visitors seeking a tour today, Saturday, July 19, as part of a nationwide Open Garden Day, organized by the Garden Conservancy.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Garden Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, sharing, and celebrating America’s gardens, will continue its Open Garden Days with two garden tours and a workshop on stone walls.
“You can spend a good hour or two just enjoying the landscape,” said Cliff Weathers, director of communications for the Garden Conservancy.
This year, the Garden Conservancy has 350 gardens across 20 states that will be open for tours. Weathers said most of the gardens open are owned by Conservancy members, who willingly open up their properties as a fundraiser to support the Conservancy’s programs and preservation work.
He added that the day is also a chance for garden owners to meet like-minded folk, share tips, and showcase their gardens.
“People like sharing and showing off their gardens,” he said.
In Ashfield, two gardens, which the conservancy has nicknamed Hillside and Wyoming Valley Farm, will be welcoming visitors. As these two gardens are privately owned and located at people’s homes, Weathers said the addresses will only be provided to those who register and purchase a ticket on the conservancy’s website.
Weathers said that while the gardens are private residential gardens, they are still beautiful.
“A lot of our gardens are owned by people with landscape design backgrounds or are gardeners,” Weathers said. “They’re well thought out and landscaped gardens.”
Weathers described the Hillside garden as “bold and beautiful” with a mix of annuals, perennials, stonework, and a maze of garden beds that will have visitors “discovering new delights around every turn.”
Wyoming Valley Farm was described as a revitalized farm that blends cultivated beds with “wild edge” and is surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape of pastures and woodlands.
In addition to the Ashfield garden tours, later in the afternoon the Garden Conservancy will be leading a workshop at a garden in Plainfield on stone walls from 4 to 6 p.m.
The workshop will go over building techniques and how stone structures can be used to enhance gardens, along with a tour of a Plainfield gardener’s use of stone walls.
“There are a lot of old stone walls in the area, it’s a big defining feature of the northeast,” Weathers said.
Garden tour tickets are $5 for Garden Conservancy members and $10 for nonmembers, per garden. Children 12 and under are free. Workshop tickets are $30 for Garden Conservancy members and $40 for nonmembers.
For more information or to register, visit gardenconservancy.org
Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.
