The Garden Conservancy will host an Open Day in the Berkshires, and in nearby Columbia County, NY,  on Sunday, July 18.  Admission to each participating garden is $5 per person, and admission may be paid in cash or by check. Tickets are not required to attend. For more information, log on to www.gardenconservancy.org. Image below courtesy of Rich Pomerantz, photographer and author of Great Gardens of the Berkshires. Descriptions are below:

Thomas Gardner, 2171 State Road, Richmond, Massachusetts

This is a rustic vegetable and flower garden set in the side yard of an eighteenth-century farmhouse in the Berkshires. The farm currently raises Cotswold sheep and mixed poultry. Rustic picket fences, grass paths, and grapevine trellises are features of the rough and tumble site. The owner raises Australian shepherds and Italian Maremma sheepdogs. An open living porch and stone terrace face the garden.

Directions:
From I-90/Massachusetts Turnpike, take West Stockbridge exit to Route 41 north into Richmond and to corner of Route 41 and Lenox Road.  The garden is at yellow farmhouse surrounded by gray picket fence and with red barn behind. Parking will be marked.

Rockland Farm, 180 Stony Kill Road, Canaan, New York

This garden comprises a variety of areas that flow one from another over about fifteen acres and continue to evolve after nearly twenty years. The 450-foot-long rock ledge is completely cleared and planted. The three-acre pond is dug and filled, and we are starting to work on the shoreline. The lawn in front of the 150-foot-long rock garden has been re-shaped to align better with the water garden. The perennial beds around our pool have been extended and redesigned. The hornbeams edging the lavender garden are starting to form a raised hedge. The vegetable and tropical container gardens are now well established, and the woodland is being expanded. Much has changed since the garden appeared in the book Great Gardens of The Berkshires.

Directions:
From east, take Route 295 from Route 41 in Massachusetts or from Route 22 in New York past tip of Queechy Lake (on right), and then take first dirt road on right (Stony Kill Road). After about 0.5 mile, look for a parking sign.

The Tilden Japanese Garden, 576 State Route 20, New Lebanon, New York

Nestled at the gateway to New Lebanon, this garden celebrates its heritage from the Shakers, Governor Samuel Tilden, and Shuji’s Restaurant. The brilliance of red bridges acts as a foil for ‘Nikko’ irises, weeping jades, ‘Casablanca’ lilies, ginkgos, and many specimen plants. Waterfalls provide sustenance to grasses and pebbled shores with koi lurking beneath water lilies. Ancient lanterns stand guard while protruding boulders provide sculpture. A smaller “courtyard garden” sits silently against a stained glass window. A Shaker ice house complements this harmony as ‘Sargent’ cherry trees, a gift from Japan, commemorate peace among nations.

Directions:
The Tilden Japanese Garden is at intersection of Routes 20 & 22. Through black gates of Tilden Mansion, garden is behind Victorian house. Parking is across street at a white Shaker meetinghouse on south meadow.