Register now for the May 22 Garden Conservancy Open Day and especially for the Digging Deeper program from 12 – 2 on Croquet and Cocktails: Preserving and Restoring Sporting Greens, since tickets are limited and sell out early. For each garden access, the fee is $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $10 for nonmembers.

• Pre-registration is REQUIRED for each garden. Pre-register for each HERE, 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.

The first on the list is the Spalding Garden in Milton. Designed by renowned landscape architect Fletcher Steele in 1924, the Spalding Garden was rescued from demolition in 2005 by the Milton Garden Club. A cultural landscape report was commissioned, and preservation efforts began shortly thereafter and continue at present. The garden, as it remains, stands on half an acre and includes formal gardens bordered by mature boxwoods, a perennial garden, a bowling green, and much of the original brickwork. In acquiring the garden, it has been the Milton Garden Club’s mission to create a pilot project to demonstrate the importance of saving local period landscape from development, to educate the public, and to adopt sustainable practices that set community standards for gardening and preservation. This is the site of the Croquet and Cocktails event ($30 Garden Conservancy members, $40 nonmembers).

In Boston proper, visit the Dustman-Ryan Garden, known as The Artful Garden. This garden reflects the creative efforts of a mighty team: Christie Dustman, professional garden designer, and Patti Ryan, a professional furniture maker. In their own personal garden, these two artists have let nothing hinder their zeal for plants, stone, and whimsy. The garden is in its eleventh season, and its transformation was done in phases, keeping only a privet hedge and one andromeda. The garden uses plants and objects as sculptures in an array of vignettes and intentional views. By showcasing some plants and objects against a background of other plants and elements, this garden has many levels of complexity and interest. The owners are members of the Conifer Society, and you will find more than 50 different conifers, as well as rare and unusual plants. It is the reclaimed and castoff items used as art and decoration, like basketball hoops and organ pipes, that often command the most “ooohs and ahhhs.” Garden is partially accessible.

Fairview Garden is located right in Roslindale. Tucked a few steps from the Peters Hill gate of the Arnold Arboretum, is a peaceful oasis of a garden. The owner began gardening about 18 years ago, initially inspired by perennials gifted from neighbors. You will be greeted with the varied colors and textures of maturing weeping conifers. Look for the swirling umbrella pine and colorful Japanese maple. A newer front bluestone walkway leads to a fieldstone wall, and in back there is a sense of quiet awe with dappled sunlight and subtle splashes of color. Zen statuary and handmade trellises support an extensive clematis display and give a Japanese feel to the garden. Garden is partially accessible.

In West Roxbury, the James/Raverso Garden (below) will be on view. This romantic urban escape with eye-popping color provided by hundreds of annuals, perennials, roses, and vines is viewed from a double-layered backyard deck that engages seamlessly with the surrounding gardens. Inspired by the classic “over the top” layered floral displays in English country gardens, it has taken eight years to build up four distinct garden areas that surround this Boston home. Definitely not a “low maintenance” garden, variations of color and texture provide a never-ending display from early Spring to late November.