Daily Archives: April 8, 2025

Saturday, April 26, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm or 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Tour of the Kinsey-Pope Garden

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As part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, the Kinsey-Pope Garden in Amherst, Massachusetts will be open on Saturday, April 26. You may choose from either of two sessions, 10 – 1 or 1 – 5. Please note you will have two other opportunities to view the garden, on May 31 and September 27, if the April date is not convenient. $10 ($5 Conservancy Members). Reserve at www.gardenconservancy.org.

The owner says: “This is a garden begun by my late husband and me (both academics with no formal garden training) soon after we moved here in 1978, working and learning together for twenty years. I have been the primary garden designer from the beginning, and designer and gardener for another twenty years, now recently with some wonderful garden help. It is a landscape of many uncommon trees with strikingly beautiful bark and a wide variety of textures, flowers, berries, and great autumn color; many shrubs with more than one season of beauty; perennials flowering in three seasons; ground covers of unusual dramatic effect covering all beds during all seasons; and in winter offering a wide palette of interesting shapes, lovely bark, and many evergreen trees and shrubs. In addition, there are three bridges over a stone-lined swale, a hand-built screened gazebo and curved top arbor, a charming little pond, many benches and Japanese stone lanterns, large-stone walkways and stone walls, and a Japanese inspired fence surrounding all of the 1/2-acre garden.

Wednesday, April 23, 10:00 am – Tulipmania

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The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s April program will take place Wednesday, April 23 at The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley. This is a rain or shine event. Join Club members for a visit to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden at Elm Bank during their Tulip Festival. We will begin our visit with a lecture from Melissa Pace, who will recount the history of tulips as well as how they are commercially grown and harvested in today’s world. Melissa will share with us how to grow tulips both in containers and in the landscape in New England and where to purchase the best bulbs. Attendees will receive a handout summarizing the talk and the many tips on how to grow and enjoy tulips at home. 

After the talk you have the option of joining Melissa on a spectacular tour of over 65,000 tulips! The trial gardens will be bursting with thousands of blooming tulips of all colors! On the way to the lower tulip cutting fields, we will pass through and discuss some of the other gardens at Elm Bank. Upon reaching the lower fields we will see thousands more tulips in full bloom.

The tour moves at a slow pace and is about 45 minutes. There are seating areas within the garden for individuals that might not want to do the full tour. The path will be paved until we reach the lower field. Sturdy shoes are recommended but the walking is easy. Members will receive cut tulip stems in floral sleeves to take home.

Melissa Pace is a Garden Educator for Massachusetts Horticultural Society. She is a MA licensed teacher and a University of Rhode Island Master Gardener since 2007. As a horticulturalist, she has judged and competed in many garden and flower shows, from Philadelphia Flower Show to the Bolton Fair. She has been a presenter for numerous garden clubs and civic organizations throughout New England since 1995. Melissa has authored articles published in Old Farmer’s Almanac, Yankee Magazine and the Massachusetts Hort blog.

This is a members only event but you may join the Club at https://gardenclubbackbay.org/.

Please note that on Thursday, April 24, the Boston Committee of the GCA will also hold its Spring Meeting at Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which is a separate, ticketed event.