Open Days

The original parts of this house are believed to date from the 1840s. More than fifty years ago a former owner and founder of the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club set out the sunken geometric garden in the shape of a Union Jack. In the late 1990s, the English garden designer Penelope Hobhouse added some important features to the garden, particularly the enclosure of the sunken flag garden to create an outdoor room. The garden contains some rare and unusual, as well as native, plants. Currently, the owners, who are hands-on gardeners from England, work closely with Jeff Verner of Verner Fine Gardens to implement further design changes.

Directions:
The house is a short walk from town, and on water side of South Water Street. Wheelchairs can go down "secret path" with caution due to incline. No parking is available, except for handicapped people in no more than 2 cars.

The property includes a Georgian Revival-style house atop a hill overlooking a lake with a panoramic view. Formally structured beds are planted informally and punctuated by topiary yews and pruned boxwood. Antique European reproduction statuary is placed strategically and brick edging around all the beds heightens the formality. The garden also features serpentine beds, a water feature and fieldstone walks. Raised beds on the north and west corners are supported by a stone retaining wall, and create an expanse of shade-loving greenery with woodland perennials.

Directions:
From Glastonbury, take Main Street to Hebron Avenue. Turn left onto Keeney Street, then right onto Howe Road. Go straight onto Route 83/Manchester Road; road bears sharply left. Cross Lake/Reservoir and then turn right onto Comstock Road.
From Hartford or east, take I-84 to I-384 east. Take Exit 3 and bear left at end to traffic light. Turn left onto South Main Street towards Glastonbury. The fourth left is Comstock Road. The second house on left is #33, on the corner of Arvine and Comstock. There is plenty of parking on street along lake/reservoir.

Coming from Germany with a finely tuned sensibility for gardens, Corinna has developed her garden over many years. Upon entering the garden, one immediately hears the sound of water, and finds, tucked in a corner, a garden within a garden, imaginative stonework and an exquisite mixture of plant material. Surrounding the elegant lawn are beds filled to the brim where fine and bold textures and colors, from soft grey hues to broad red stripes, compete for your attention. In the rear, the garden presents exquisite water features and an opportunity to “walk across the water.” Large, strong shrubs and overhanging perennials, both coarse and dainty, are connected by paths which wind through the planting, leading you to other pleasures. A unique aspect of this garden is the connection to the garden of Corinna's neighbor behind, also an avid gardener. A wooden gate opens onto a bold and striking landscape. Although water from a slope above has presented a major problem, small stonewalls at clever angles distribute the water for use in the planting beds, which are crammed with woodland plants. The garden slopes down toward the house, where huge, old stonewalls support the rolling lawns, creating elegant terraces near the house. We are pleased to present the idea of two adjacent gardens and the opportunities for the exchange of horticultural material and so much more - the joy of having a garden soul nearby for moments when a plant is particularly beautiful or there is a problem to be solved. Would that there were many more of these gardens!

Directions:
From the Beltway/I-495, take Exit 30. Go south towards Silver Spring on Colesville Road, crossing Georgia Avenue and East West Highway to a small circle at 16th Street (about 2.2 miles). Continue past the circle on North Portal Drive to its end (about .4 mile). Make a left onto East Beach Drive, and go to the bridge at Kalmia Road (about .1 mile). Turn right across the bridge and immediately left onto West Beach Drive. Go .1 mile to Plymouth Street. Turn right onto Plymouth Street. The fourth house on the right is 1837. Please park on the street.

Orchard Terrace, designed by Erick Rossiter in 1898, is situated on a former apple orchard and overlooks the playing fields of the Gunnery. The garden is a work in progress; much of it created over the last five years. The property is speckled with rock outcroppings amongst which perennial gardens are planted. A pool and greenhouse have been added to showcase tropical plants and orchids as well as native plants and grasses. An effort has been made to provide a natural habitat for butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.

Directions:
Please walk across Green from Nancy Chute's garden. Or, park in lower part of Gunn Library at Wykeham Road. Walk down Wykeham Road to Old North Road (about 100 yards), which is on left. The garden is first driveway on right. Do not attempt to park at house; parking will only be allowed on Green or at library.

This is a Japanese garden designed and installed by a professional. Beginning at the street is a "pre-entry" garden. Then, as you enter through the gates, on the left is a small stroll garden and on the right a pathway leading to a dry garden designed to be viewed from inside the living room and owner's office. As you walk around the back of the house you will see a pond stroll garden with a waterfall and koi pond. Behind the pond garden is a large stroll garden, partially constructed.

Directions:
From I-5, take Exit 104 onto Route 101 North. Go 3.4 miles to Mud Bay Road exit and take Mud Bay Road ramp to right. Go 0.5 mile and turn right onto Mud Bay Road West. Turn right onto Kaiser Road SW, and go 0.8 mile to 13th Avenue SW. Turn left. Go 0.2 mile and #3433 is on right. Please park on street.

The property looks to the sea and the Golden Gate Bridge beyond. The sound of waves contrasts with the rush of natural spring-fed waterfalls. Koi swim, hawks soar. Pathways and stairways zig through a rose cutting garden, a pergola buried in clematis, and an Asian outlook to the serene Presidio forest. At every turn, camellias, rhododendrons and unusual plantings reward the eye. “Garden within the garden” reads the Chinese calligraphy at the entry to the garden “room” that holds a treasured Bonsai collection.

Directions:
At the request of its owner, information about visiting this garden is available only through our Open Days Directories and in limited supply at other gardens open on this date.

Enter this expansive estate garden by a long ornamental cherry and arborvitae-lined drive that leads to the main residence with its entry pool garden and proud stand of aspen trees. To the right is a cozy entertainment garden of specimen plants. To the left, a soft rolling lawn of immense proportions beckons for a tour around the residence. Soon the stunningly grand valley pond comes into view. Every detail is just so, from the glacier-rock-lined borders, to the island accessible by an arched bridge. Here, great space and elevation are pleasingly combined for a loving presentation of nature's beauty.

Directions:
Take Seattle to Bainbridge Island ferry and go straight on Highway 305 for 2.4 miles. Turn left at Sportsman Road intersection traffic light. Take immediate right onto Wardwell Avenue. Drive 0.5 mile to Hannah Garden parking.