Daily Archives: August 22, 2022

Sunday, September 4, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Essex County Open Day

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The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day program returns to Essex County on September 4 with two beautiful gardens, The Stevens-Coolidge House and Garden in North Andover, and The Sedgwick Gardens at Long Hill in Beverly. Register HERE.

In North Andover, enter a world of a former farm that became an early-20th-century estate, where a newly expanded array of bountiful gardens and plantings complements a gracious and refined home. Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens was the summer home of Helen Stevens Coolidge and her husband, John Gardner Coolidge – a diplomat descended from Thomas Jefferson and a nephew to Isabella Stewart Gardner – from 1914 to 1962.

Long Hill was owned and cared for by the Sedgwick family from 1916 to 1979, their beloved summer home that, in the 1950s, became their year-round haven. Mabel Cabot Sedgwick, an accomplished gardener and author of The Garden Month by Month, and her husband, Ellery Sedgwick, noted author and editor of The Atlantic Monthly, summered here until Mabel passed in 1937. After Mabel’s death, Ellery married Marjorie Russell Sedgwick, a rare plants specialist. The combined creative vision of these two women led to the design of Long Hill’s enchanting gardens, surrounded by more than 100 acres of woodland.

Today, visitors delight in the beauty of Long Hill’s structured and naturalistic gardens as well as a network of woodland trails. A diverse collection of trees, shrubs, and distinctive perennial plants provide color during the growing season, peaking in May and June and providing structure and beauty throughout the year. With an ever-growing calendar of public events and festivities, you’ll find ample reason for frequent returns.

  • Pre-registration is REQUIRED for each garden. Pre-register for each on this website, except where specifically indicated otherwise. Children under 12 are free and do not need to be pre-registered if accompanied by pre-registered adult.
  • Capacity is limited. Sorry, no walk-ins allowed; no paper tickets or cash payments will be accepted on-site.
  • Masks are required, at the discretion of the garden owners, and social distancing is encouraged at all in-person events.

Saturday, September 17, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Gardens at Clock Barn

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On Saturday, September 17 from 10 – 4, The Garden Conservancy will host a Middlesex County Open Day event at The Gardens at Clock Barn, the home of Maureen and Mike Ruettgers, 453 Bedford Road in Carlisle.

Passionate gardeners Maureen and Mike Ruettgers invite visitors of all ages to share a day of adventure and inspiration in their extraordinary Gardens at Clock Barn. From a stylish design full of the choicest plants to an inventive children’s garden, this is a veritable wonderland designed to ignite curiosity and delight in all gardeners, from toddlers on up. Explore the walled garden, greenhouse, woodland garden, and secret garden, as well as the pizza garden, pumpkin patch, fairy garden, and tee pee. Investigate fragrant plants used in potpourri.

Entering the gardens through an arched gate, explore the old barn with trays full of herbs and flowers from the adjacent cutting garden. These trays were built as a 1930s WPA Project for drying digitalis leaves used medicinally. East of the barn are beds of flowers, vegetables, and herbs that are rotated throughout the season. An adjacent Belgian fence espalier encloses a garden room displaying calendulas, Verbena bonariensis, other herbs, and ornamental vegetables. Beyond the cordon of pears is the new fall border featuring Salvia madrensis, tithonia, Abyssinian banana, and many dahlias. Near the center of the property, a grape arbor leads to a walled garden with four quadrants anchored by antique roses. Mixed borders there feature sweeps of nasturtiums, ‘Amistad’ & ‘Indigo Spires’ salvia, ‘Prairie Sun’ rudbeckia, heleniums, and edible herbs. A second tier is flanked by two reflecting pools ringed by Allium lusitanicum and herbal tapestries. The greenhouse and potting area is filled with scented geraniums, succulents, gingers, bay, and rosemary varietals. Beyond, a canopy of 100-year-old oaks shades woodland gardens. Favorite woodland plantings include Paeonia japonica and P. obovata, anemones, epimediums, Kirengeshoma palmata, and hosta from the garden of Francis Williams. Look for the new tree fort, a koi pond, sculptures, and choice specimens of dogwood, magnolia, and maple. Pass through a hornbeam arch to the Clock Barn. Up on the patio at the house, investigate a collection of Italian pots and troughs filled with favorite specimens, then go around the corner to discover the secret garden.

Garden Extras: Dig for Victory: Victory Gardens Now and Then. Gardens have provided not only a balm for the soul but also a joyful point of light during times of uncertainty. This reflective exhibit explores the connections between the Victory Gardens of WW2 and the COVID-19 pandemic, two events that brought about a resurgence of interest not only in gardening but also in other important gardening traditions such as food preservation and canning. Enjoy a display of historic artifacts that connects gardeners of the present to the gardens and gardeners of the past. This Garden Extra made possible with the assistance of the Carlisle Garden Club and Historical Society. Garden is partially accessible.

Admission to this garden is $10 per person and children 12 and under are free. Registration required. For directions and complete information visit www.gardenconservancy.org