Four beautiful gardens in the Mondadnock Region of New Hampshire will be on display Sunday, June 7 from 10 – 4 courtesy of The Garden Conservancy. Preregistration is required. Admission to each garden is $5 for Conservancy members, $10 for nonmembers.

The May Place gardens of Bill and Eileen Elliott are in Hancock, New Hampshire. Two compulsive plant collectors have been making gardens on a wooded hillside clearing for forty-five years. They continue to do all of the planning, landscaping, planting and maintenance themselves.

Gardening offers ample challenges and satisfaction as the garden continues to expand, change, die back, thrive, disappoint, and exhilarate. Within the green wall of mature woodland is a two-acre clearing which contains a mix of trees, shrubs, perennials, biennials, annuals, herbs and vegetables. (Picture below courtesy of Yankee Magazine)

A 200-yard path through the woods leads to shade and container gardens near the house.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: The garden is on a hillside with uneven paths. Sturdy shoes are needed. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/may-place-gardens-of-bill-and-eileen-elliott

Also in Hancock is Skatutakee Farm. The gardens surround Hancock’s first house, built in 1778 by the town clerk, Jonathan Bennett. The farmhouse plantings are informal and blend into surrounding fields and woods.

On each side of the old front door are beds reminiscent of Colonial gardens, flanked by plantings of old roses and nepeta. Behind the 1970 kitchen wing is a 48-foot-long

koi pond designed by landscape architect Diane McGuire and planted with lotuses, irises, and water lilies.

McGuire also laid out the perennial bed and woodland border planted with witch hazel, azaleas, snakeroot, and Rodgersia.

The AIA-award-winning screened porch was designed by Dan Scully. A pair of 200-year-old granite Korean rams graze on the back lawn.

Walking beyond the borders, one comes to a bog garden surrounded by marsh marigolds, skunk cabbage, and sedges. A trail of cardinal flowers brightens the wetland beyond. In the field below the terraced potager are two beds planted heavily in pollinators for late arrival of Monarch butterflies.

This garden’s estimated size is 2 acres.

This Garden Host reports the following Terrain Notes about the garden: Wheelchair access is possible, but limited. There are terraces, uneven ground, and staircases throughout the property, and assistance is not available. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/skatutakee-farm-597bf224-f726-4180-92ac-e8615c22ccd4

In Peterborough is the garden of Betsy and Michael Gordon. This small garden in the village was designed by a plantsman to be an extension of the house. The house and garden are situated on a hill and the garden is terraced on three levels. The upper level was designed to be enjoyed from the street. The middle level is laid out formally using yew hedges and a century-old granite wall foundation to create a garden room. The lowest level, an informal woodland garden, has both eastern North American and eastern Asian shade-loving plants. The garden was planted with a mixture of unusual trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, annuals, and bulbs. Plants were selected primarily for interesting form, foliage, and texture. The garden is chronicled on Instagram @thegardenerseye. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/garden-of-michael-betsy-gordon

Continuing on to Dublin is the Japanese Garden. The Japanese garden project began after the owner had worked for over 15 years to build a small traditional Japanese house on property in Dublin. The garden and pond were added so that visitors could experience that same quiet feeling outside the house as they did inside.

The owner is a student of Japanese history and design. This garden’s estimated size is 3/4 acre. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/japanese-house-in-new-hampshire-garden