Secret Gardens Open for One Day Only
On one day only for just six hours, eight private gardens will be open to the public as part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program. All eight are in ‘Sconset, and for $30, you can visit all of them on Thursday, June 28 from 10 am to 4 pm.
Enjoy the calm, shady area at the “Barnagain” garden, featuring painted ferns, groundcovers, and stepping stones that lead to the open porch at the rear of the house. This garden, at 6 Coffin Street, is full of trees and shrubs typical for Nantucket: tupelo, juniper, winterberry, and hydrangea.
Explore “Hedged About,” garden of Charlotte & Macdonald Mathey at 10 Sankaty Road, surrounded and divided into garden rooms by privet hedges totaling almost one –half mile on length. The different “rooms” contain a very large perennial flower garden in the English style, a planting of more than 30 trees, an herb garden, a wisteria arbor, blueberry bushes, and a secret garden the full width of the property featuring flowering shrubs, winding paths, a gazebo, and a fountain.
Relax at Linda & George Kelly’s “Up All Night” garden at 23 Morey Lane, where seating areas on the veranda allow wonderful views of the perennial garden and lawn. This garden is entered through a privet arch, nestled into the bend of a veranda.
Admire the small, sophisticated garden of Alan and Janet & Morell at 27 Bank Street, featuring trellises with details copied from gardens in France as well as other subtleties picked up by the well-traveled owners. Approaching the home, there are no clues that this beautifully designed garden is located behind it.
At the “None Too Big” garden, inspiration created a garden similar to the Cotswold gardens in England, with seaside touches such as stone steps with shell accents. This garden has won a gold medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and was featured on “Victory Garden.” At the owners’ request, the location of this garden is available only to Open Days participants.
Stroll through the completely organic cottage gardens at “The Powerhouse,” divided into “garden rooms” featuring perennials, herbs, cutting flowers, roses, and flowering shrubs. The location of this garden is only available to Open Days participants.
Delight in the views at “The Shieling,” where the gardens sit on the south bluff of ‘Sconset, overlooking a private beach, and a rose-and-clematis-covered arbor frames the sea and sky. The garden also has a unique water feature hidden behind tall circular walls of privet. The location of this garden is only available to Open Days participants.
Traverse the gardens at “Summer Salt” at 25 Coffin Street, where three small white-trimmed buildings facing one another creates a sense of a small village, and a generous porch, tell grasses, and wildflower beds create serene sunny and shady spaces to enjoy.
In addition to the eight private gardens, particpants in the Nantucket Open Days program can view the interior of the historic Siasconset Union Chapel at 18 New Street in Siasconset. The Gardens at Nantucket Wildflower Farm, 84 Egan Lane, will also be open for viewing from 9 am to 5 pm.
Admission to each private garden is $5 or $30 to visit all eight gardens. Visitors may begin the tour at Hedged About, 10 Sankaty Road to purchase the discounted tickets and pick up directions to the additional gardens, or tickets may be purchased in advance in Nantucket Town at the English Trunk Show Company, 8 Washington Street.
Open Days are rain or shine, and no reservations are required. For additional details, visit www.opendaysprogram.org. These Open Days gardens are featured in the 2007 Open Days Directory; a soft-covered book that includes detailed driving directions and vivid descriptions written by their owners. The book is available online.
The Garden Conservancy introduced the Open Days Program in 1995 as a means of introducing the public to gardening, providing easy access to outstanding examples of design and horticulture al practice, and providing that exceptional American gardens are still being created. The Open Days Program is America’s only national private garden-visiting program, and is made possible by the work of hundreds of volunteers nationwide. The 2007 Open Days Program is sponsored by W. Atlee Burpee & Co., and by Heronswood Nursery.
