Four unique gardens will be on view with the Garden Conservancy on September 14 from 10 – 4.
The Garden at Power Street in Providence (below) is a new garden: the borders were built in 2017 and planting began in the fall of 2018. A city lot 70 × 70 feet, the garden is mostly filled with flowering perennials and features a summer house folly. Previously there was no garden, just a worn-out lawn. Laura Wilson designed the structure, and Kevin Bacon built the stone wall. The design pays homage to Colonial Revival gardens of 100 years ago.
Also in Providence is Sycamore Farm Community Garden. Sycamore Farm is an urban agriculture oasis in Providence’s historic West End neighborhood. Visitors will delight in touring a whimsical mix of organically grown vegetables, berries, herbs, and flowers in raised beds tended by nine neighboring families and the garden owner who lives on the property in a newly constructed home. A beehive dwells under the boughs of an old beech tree that takes up a full third of the farm. The perimeter fence and deck are made of tamarack that was hewn and milled in Rhode Island. A water feature wends through the garden, from downspouts to a little pond. This rock river solves two problems: drainage from the new house’s roof and what to do with the piles of newly excavated foundation stones and pebbles—the remains of two buildings that were buried decades ago on this double lot. Decades ago, a community garden grew up on the then vacant lot. The present owner, an urban agriculture advocate, purchased the lot when it fell into neglect. Still a work in progress, Sycamore Farm is once again happily flourishing and providing joy to all who garden within or who walk and drive by it.
The third Providence garden is a College Hill Urban Oasis. Designed by Andrew Grossman, this urban garden in the heart of College Hill near Brown University is a miniature paradise. Located at the intersection of two quiet streets in the Stimson Avenue historic district, it is enclosed by a tall board fence with lattice insets. The garden features a boisterous arrangement of hydrangea bushes and hydrangea trees accented by a contemporary fountain amid pots of tall grasses and flowers.
Finally, back in Seekonk, Massachusetts, is Andrew Grossman’s own garden. As he says “My 1-acre property, which borders the Martin Wildlife Refuge and the Runnins River, is home to a wide variety of perennials, grasses, shrubs, and flowering trees. In the spring of 2021 we completed work on a swimming pool garden, which is planted with a low maintenance assortment of predominantly summer-blooming favorites. The remainder of the property includes a blue-and-white garden with a rectangular lily pond, a hot-colored garden with a checkerboard thyme patio, a cottage garden planted with roses and other old-fashioned cultivars, and a rustic pond surrounded by bog plantings. There is also a cutting garden currently planted with David Austin roses, dinner plate dahlias, and sun flowers. The house and property has been featured in numerous national publications, including Design New England, Old House Journal, Garden Gate, Flower, Country Living Gardener, Country Home, and Fine Gardening. In 2016 the gardens were awarded first place in HGTV’s Gorgeous Gardens competition.”
Each garden entry is $5 for Conservancy members, $10 for nonmembers. Register in advance at www.gardenconservancy.org
