Time Out for a Garden Tour
Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour. Photo by John W. Hession
Take a break from weeding to check out some of the many gorgeous private properties that are throwing open their garden gates to the public this summer. All are for the benefit of worthy causes, and will give you the opportunity to gather some new ideas for your own garden.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Garden Conservancy Open Days in Hillsborough County is offering four gardens ranging from a lakeside retreat and cooking instructor Liz Barbour’s edible garden — both in Hollis — to a hobbit habitat in Manchester and an inner city lot in Nashua. Sign up to visit one or all at gardenconservancy.org.
- Hollis — Hollis Village Edible Garden
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Hollis — Lakeside Retreat
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Manchester — New Shire Gardens
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Nashua — The Garden on Briarwood
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22, 2024
Portsmouth — This year, the Portsmouth Pocket Garden tour will concentrate on gardens in a section of the Little Harbor neighborhood bordered by South Street, Middle Street and Miller Aveue. This is the 35th year for the ever-popular tour, which is an annual fundraiser for South Church. It will feature 10 to 12 home gardens on a self-guided walking tour and includes live music and cookies at some of the gardens. Tickets are $25 in advance online through portsmouthnh.com and at selected retail outlets, and $30 the day of the event. All tickets are good for both Friday 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m to 4 p.m., rain or shine.
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Manchester — This is the fifth year for the Palace Theatre’s self-guided garden tour. Open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., it includes eight private homes in Manchester. Limited tickets go on sale in March and are $25 in advance, or $30 the day of the tour. They can be purchased at the box office at 80 Hanover St. or online at palacetheatre.org. Demers Garden Center at 656 South Mammoth Road sponsors this program and also sells tickets. All ticketholders need to go to Demers between 9 a.m and noon on the day of the tour to register and pick up the map.
Saturday, June 30, 2024
Enjoy a trip to the southwestern part of the state to check out three New Hampshire gardens in the Garden Conservancy Open Days Program in Cheshire County, including the home of a plant collector on a horse farm in Spofford. In Walpole, visit a historic property that has been in the same family since 1790, and in Westmore-land, a 20-acre hillside farm boasts multiple gardens. Purchase tickets in
advance at gardenconservancy.org.
- Spofford — Shooting Star Farm
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Walpole — Boggy Meadow Farm
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Westmoreland — Gardens of
Ellen and Bruce Clement
12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
After viewing the gardens in New Hampshire, hop across the border into Vermont to check out the gardens of some well-known garden designers and authors — Bill Noble in Norwich and Gordon and Mary Hayward in Westminster West — that are also open on this day for the Garden Conservancy program.
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Granite VNA is offering a mid-week tour of four fabulous homes and gardens in the Wolfeboro area to benefit their hospice program. Tickets are $50, and will be available online at granitevna.org in June. Tour hours are from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.
Fry Gardens in Peterborough. Photo by John W. Hession
Sunday, August 11, 2024
Return to Cheshire County for a summertime look at two more open gardens on the Garden Conservancy Tour. See native plantings at Hollows End in Gilsum, and enjoy the nature trails and cultivated gardens at Distant Hills in Walpole. Be sure to register at gardenconservancy.org.
- Gilsum — Hollows End
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Walpole — Distant Hill Gardens: Garden of Michael & Kathy Nerrie
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, August 24, 2024
Garden Conservancy Open Days in the Monadnock Region include the oldest house in Hancock; the gardens of a furniture designer and garden historian in Jaffrey; a property with 52 garden areas in Peterborough where noted designers Gordon Hayward and Doug Hoerr have contributed to the design; and a compact, in-town hillside garden in Peterborough filled with a plantsman’s treasures. Plan ahead and get tickets soon to view these unique properties at gardenconservancy.org.
- Hancock — Skatutakee Farm
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Jaffrey — The Garden of Nan Quick
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Peterborough — Fry Garden
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Peterborough — Michael and Betsy Gordon
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Please note that for Garden Conservancy tours, tickets go on sale roughly two months before the month of the tour, i.e. June tickets are ready on April 3, August tickets on June 1, and are typically $10 per person.
