The Belfast Garden Club invites the public to visit the lusciously green garden of Eden Buron, 101 Congress Street, Belfast, Maine. The garden will be open on Friday, August 6th from 10am-4pm as part of the club’s Open Garden Days.
The garden was originally started by Buron’s mother, as a street-side perennial flower garden in 1976. New England heritage plants and summer blooms, such as bee balm, phlox, and balloon flower remain and create a colorful carpet under towering trees welcoming visitors to the well-maintained historic 1878 home.
More recently a new garden landscape project has been undertaken. Buron began as a novice gardener 5 years ago after realizing that the window at her home she spent the most time looking out of was a little window at the back of the shed behind the house. Through this window she could not see other houses or the street, but only the peaceful, country-like view of natural trees and grasses. She decided to turn the shed into a four-season sitting room where she could always enjoy the view. In order to enhance the natural beauty of her backyard she wanted to take out some of the conventional straight lines and lawn, and replace them with an abundance of curves and greenery. She had a challenge ahead of her on her narrow, pie-shaped and very shady lot, but she was up to the task!
The Buron Garden has obviously been a labor of love, of experimentation, learning, and success. It has undergone a complete transformation from the original “plain-Jane†look. At moments the results feel as refined as an arboretum, and at others feel as magical and wild as a summer’s day. Buron has packed a lot into a very small and shady garden with aplomb!
Directions to 101 Congress Street, Belfast: From Post Office Square in Belfast go up Main Street hill to a left on Congress Street. Follow Congress Street for several blocks until you reach 101 Congress. House is on the right. Once you get close follow the yellow Open Garden arrows.
Tickets can be purchased at the garden on the day of the tour for a donation of $4. Proceeds from the 2010 Open Garden Days will benefit the Belfast Garden Club’s civic beautification projects. The 5th annual Belfast Garden Club Open Garden Days feature 14 gardens from Belfast to Searsport, Jackson to Orland and in between. One garden per week will be open to the public from 10-4 Fridays, through September 10. For complete information, log on to www.belfastgardenclub.org. Photo of the Buron Garden below is by A. Fowler.
