On Saturday, June 24th, the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program shares three gardens in Needham and Wellesley, and offers a Digging Deeper event at the Hunnewell Estate with David Dusenbury. Gardens open at 10 a.m. and ending times vary. The Open Day is rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Admission is $7 per private garden; children 12 & under free. Call 1-888-842-2442, or visit www.opendaysprogram.org for more information. An additional Greater Boston Open Day take place on September 9th in Carlisle.
Properties included on the June 24th tour include:
Garden of Ellen Lathi, 119 Locust Lane, Needham; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – this fifteen-year-old garden, pictured below, is spread over the two-acre property, connected by a series of stepping-stone and mulched paths with transitions punctuated by lichen-covered natural stone and rustic garden ornaments. Highlighted are collections of Japanese maples, beech, deciduous conifers, bamboos and grasses of every type, and large-leafed plants, which love wet and boggy conditions. Using very few flowers in the garden, the owners attempt to achieve a bold, colorful effect through the seasons using gold and burgundy foliage, leaf variegation, and texture.
Garden of Kelly Wingo & Stephen Capone, 119 Harris Avenue, Needham; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. – a ten-year-old garden surrounding a 1929 brick Tudor house, is the playground for the owners for combining new and unusual plants with old favorites. There is a diverse collection of trees, shrubs, perennials, plus containers, Japanese maples, a meditation garden, and a small vegetable garden.
Hunnewell Estate, Wellesley; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Directions to this garden will be available at each additional location. Four generations of the Hunnewell family have had a hand in this estate garden, which includes a formal azalea garden and pinetum. Greenhouses produce delicate camellias, exotic orchids, flowers, and fruit. The highlight of your visit is bound to be the whimsical yet monumental clipped evergreens, which adorn the sloping shores of Lake Waban.
A separate event, Digging Deeper: A Walking Tour of Hunnewell Estate Highlights, takes place at 11 a.m. in Wellesley. Tickets are $30 for Garden Conservancy members, $35 for nonmembers; preregistration is required (the $7 Open Days admission to this garden is included in the ticket price). David Dusenbury, horticulturist/superintendent of the Hunnewell Estate since 1995, will lead a walking tour of the most outstanding features of this historic 39-acre property. Participants will visit such highlights as the Italian Garden, Azalea Garden, Pinetum and Conservatory while learning about how the extensive plantings, dating back to 1850, have evolved into today’s mature landscape of spectacular specimen trees and shrubs. Address will be provided to registered guests only.
All Open Days gardens are featured in the 2017 Open Days Directory; a soft-cover book that includes detailed driving directions and vivid garden descriptions written by their owners, plus a complementary ticket for admission to one private garden. The directory includes garden listings in seventeen states and costs $27.95 including shipping. Visit www.opendaysprogram.org or call the Garden Conservancy toll-free at 1-888-842-2442 to order with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express, or send a check or money order to: the Garden Conservancy, P.O. Box 219, Cold Spring, NY 10516. Discount admission tickets are available as well through advanced mail order.
The Garden Conservancy is a national nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing outstanding American gardens. Since 1995, the Garden Conservancy’s award-winning Open Days has welcomed more than one million visitors into thousands of inspired private landscapes – from urban rooftops to organic farms, historic estates to innovative suburban lots – in forty-one states. Site-specific Open Days Special Programs – Digging Deeper, Experts in the Garden, and Family Time – invite participants to take a closer look at the garden world. Hundreds of volunteers help this robust annual program showcase regional horticultural and stylistic expressions in a national context, celebrating the rich diversity of American gardens. Get out and get inspired with Open Days!
