Boston Flora

Category: Rhode Island

  • Friday – Sunday, June 26 – 28, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Secret Gardens of Newport

    Eight to ten gardens will be open in this summer’s Secret Gardens of Newport Tour. Order your tickets online at https://www.secretgardentours.org/faqs.htm Advance sale tickets are $30. On the days of the tour, tickets may be purchased for $35, if there are any tickets available. On the day you arrive, present your PayPal receipt under the tent in Storer Park at 32 Washington Street in Newport and you will be given a program with a map and directions to each of the gardens.

    The Newport Secret Garden Tours is proud to partner with Bike Newport and the “Get There By Bike” initiative. We encourage you to bike to the Newport Secret Garden Tour, helping to reduce traffic congestion, parking stress, and carbon emissions. We will have temporary bike racks set up at Storer Park. More information on bike parking and other related information can be found here:
    https://bikenewportri.org/bike-to-newport-secret-garden-tours/

  • Saturday, June 27, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Stonewalls to the Sea: Little Compton Garden Tour

    Come enjoy visiting eight private gardens—as well as Little Compton’s natural beauty with stonewalls and lovely ocean vistas.

    Hosted by the Little Compton Garden Club, this self-guided tour of eight private gardens in coastal Little Compton offers a rare opportunity for garden lovers. The date is Saturday, June 27th, rain or shine. You’ll enjoy not only the variety of gardens but also the town’s scenic beauty, with stonewalls to the sea and ocean views.

    The tour celebrates the long tradition of the Little Compton Garden Club’s giving back to the community. Your ticket purchase makes it possible for the club to fund a wide range of environmental, conservation, and education programs, as well as town beautification projects.

    Tickets to the June 27 event can be purchased in advance ($45) or on the day of the event ($55) at the map pick-up area at St. Andrew’s Church, 11 Willow Ave., Little Compton. You may purchase on Eventbrite HERE

  • Friday, June 19 – Sunday, June 21 – The 30th Newport Flower Show: Pearls of Newport

    “Pearls of Newport” is the perfect theme for the 30th anniversary Newport Flower Show, taking place June 19–21, 2026, at Rosecliff. This milestone event will feature exquisite floral exhibits inspired by the rare beauty and hidden treasures of the City-by-the-Sea. Just as pearls symbolize elegance and sophistication, the show will spotlight stunning floral designs, botanical arts and horticulture displays that reflect Newport’s rich heritage and refined charm. The theme will also connect naturally to the city’s coastal identity and maritime history.

    In a graceful nod to the Gilded Age, when fashionable Newport women often wore pearls as a symbol of refinement and status, the show will blend historic elegance with modern creativity.

    “Pearls of Newport” promises a celebration of floral excellence wrapped in coastal beauty and timeless style.

    Don’t miss your chance to secure tickets to the Flower Show Opening Night Party on Friday, June 19, at 6 pm – the kickoff to Newport’s summer season! Tickets available now at NewportMansions.org

  • Saturday, May 2, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm – Sakonnet Plant Fair

    The Fifth Annual Sakonnet Plant Fair will take place on Saturday, May 2, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm at 3 Meeting House Lane in Little Compton, Rhode Island. This event is a benefit for the Little Compton Village Improvement Society, and over 35 vendors and specialty growers are expected to attend. There will be coffee, music, food, book signings, and the opportunity to purchase annuals, perennials, herbs, native plants, vegetables, trees, bulbs, and tropicals. For more information visit https://www.sakonnetgarden.net/

  • Now through Sunday, May 3 – Full Circle

    Fifty-one years after “Monumenta” transformed Newport with one of the world’s first large-scale outdoor sculpture exhibitions, “Full Circle” revisits that groundbreaking moment through the work of Richard Fleischner, one of the last living participating artists, and his contemporaries.

    Centered on Fleischner’s enduring site-specific “Sod Maze” at Chateau-sur-Mer, the exhibition presents original sketches, notes and archival materials that illuminate his early career alongside influential figures such as Christo, David Smith, Claes Oldenburg, Alexander Liberman and Barnett Newman.

    Complemented by encaustics and works related to Fleischner’s ongoing Rowdy Meadow earthwork – home to contemporary masters like Richard Serra, Anish Kapoor, and Andy Goldsworthy – the exhibit traces a compelling arc from the pioneering vision of “Monumenta” to the continuing relevance of modern art and contemporary sculpture today.

    The exhibit is at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, and the exhibition is included with admission to Rosecliff. For more. information visit https://www.newportmansions.org/events/full-circle/

    Image above: Richard Fleischner, aerial photograph of “Sod Maze” in winter, Newport, Rhode Island, 1974. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Saturday, March 28, 8:30 am – 2:30 pm – The Art of Biodiversity Gardening

    Sakonnet Garden invites you to The Art of Biodiversity Gardening: A Gardening Symposium, on Saturday, March 28, featuring speakers Hanna Packer, Uli Lorimer, and Fergus Garrett. The Symposium will take place at Wilber & McMahon Schools, 28 Commons Street in Little Compton, Rhode Island.

    This year’s symposium brings you three speakers who will open a conversation about the art of biodiversity gardening. Our goal in selecting these diverse and complimentary individuals is to foster thought about your own gardens and your own gardening aspirations. Perhaps you will learn that the nurturing of biodiversity is more complex than merely selecting natives over non natives, and that design and beauty in a garden can encourage biodiversity as a direct result or a by-product. In a world where we seem to have little control, Sakonnet Garden hopes that you take away something from this day which will encourage you to be more deliberate in how as gardeners you can make a difference in however small a way intention leads you in the garden.

    Tickets $75. Register at https://www.sakonnetgarden.net/events

  • Thursday, December 18, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Behind the Scenes: The Breakers Holiday Decorations

    Join Jim Donahue, Curator of Historic Landscapes & Horticulture of the Preservation Society of Newport County, on Thursday, December 18 at ll am at The Breakers for a behind the scenes tour of the holiday decoration process. Preservation Society members $20, general public $25. This is an Adult Event. Two other dates, December 4 and 11, are already sold out, but you may add your name to a waiting list. To register visit https://www.newportmansions.org/events/behind-the-scenes-the-breakers-holiday-decorations-3/

  • Saturday, September 20, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm – In Conversation with Chef Marcus Samuelsson

    Internationally renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson, who’s headlining the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival in September, had a remarkable journey to culinary stardom. Samuelsson will share his stories during a special event, “In Conversation with Chef Marcus Samuelsson,” on Saturday, September 20, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Rosecliff.

    The eight-time James Beard Award winner was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and trained in Europe before he headed to New York at age 23. He took the culinary world by storm, creating flavorful new cuisine that reflected his multicultural identity.

    Within a year, Samuelsson was named executive chef at Aquavit and soon became the youngest chef ever awarded three stars by The New York Times. Samuelsson’s trajectory had only begun. The “Top Chef Masters” champion now operates a dozen restaurants around the world, has written multiple cookbooks and a memoir, and won an Emmy Award.

    Guests will enjoy a tasting plate and wine pairing during the Conversation and will have access to the festival Tasting Tent before the event. $250. Register at https://www.newportmansions.org/events/in-conversation-with-chef-marcus-samuelsson/

  • Saturday, September 20, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Tree Walk at Chateau-sur-Mer

    The Preservation Society of Newport County will host a tree walk at Chateau-sur-Mer, 474 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 20 at 10 am. The walk will be led by Jeff Curtis, Director of Gardens & Landscapes. We will examine Chateau-sur-Mer’s mature arboretum with specimen quality trees including Japanese maples, weeping hemlocks, Turkish oaks and European beeches, among others.

    This is an outdoor event, rain or shine. Participants will meet at the front door of Chateau-sur-Mer to begin the tour. Members $15, nonmembers $20. Registration is required at https://www.newportmansions.org/events/tree-walk-at-chateau-sur-mer/

  • Thursday, September 18 – Sunday, September 21 – Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival

    Three days of fun and educational seminars, tastings, dinners and the fan-favorite Sunday Jazz Buffet Brunch await you in Marble House and Rosecliff at the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival on September 18 – 21.

    Celebrated Chef Marcus Samuelsson will join us as host of the elegant Vintner Dinner and as featured guest for a conversation in the Rosecliff Ballroom. For complete listing of events, and links for registration, visit https://www.newportmansions.org/events/newport-mansions-wine-food-festival-2025/