Gardens at Clock Barn Home of Maureen & Mike Ruettgers

About

The Ruettgers have been gardening here 45 years, although the house and drying barn date to 1790. Entering the gardens from an arched gate, explore the old barn with trays of dried flowers and herbs harvested from the adjacent gardens. During 1939, these trays were drying digitalis leaves for a WPA project for the war effort while cut off from Europe. The digitalis was used medicinally for the heart. As you exit the first garden, you enter by a Belgian espalier fence of pears which encloses this room with borders of tulip mixture of ‘Lemon Chiffon,’ ‘Explorer,’ and ‘Avant Garde.’ Later, the bed changes to dahlias potted in the greenhouse, as well as seed trays of zinnias and salvias. A grape arbor leads you into a walled garden in four quadrants. In the early season, it is just awakening with antique roses, beds of thyme and lavender, purple fennel, angelica, and lovage. The greenhouses are filled with tender perennials, annuals, and a collection of scented geraniums, over 25 varieties of dahlias, and Abyssinian bananas, all waiting to be planted. The outside cold frames are filled with a mix of soft pink petals of Tulip ‘China Town’ and Tulip ‘Esperanto.’ Looking to the East, you see an orchard of apples and peaches. West of the greenhouse is a tall stand of oaks showing you the way past the children’s tree fort to the woodland garden and pond. This is the garden that appears in April and May. The woodland ephemerals put out a show each day with bloodroot, Erythroniums both white and yellow, trillium, Dutchman’s breeches, Podophyllums, squill mix, anemones and Leucojum. Later in May, alliums pop up between the hosta collection and Japanese Peonies japonica and obovata. Pass through a hornbeam hedge to the Clock Barn. In this barn, don’t miss several spring floral displays in the downstairs space. As you exit the barn, the house is on the left. Step up onto the patio to view the Italian pots and trough filled with bulbs and a collection of dwarf conifers. As you descend the end stairs, you see a border of tulip mixture leading to the secret garden with Japanese fencing on one side. This is meant to be a quiet garden for reflection—Enjoy!

2025 Open Day: Saturday, May 10 

Hours: 10-4 

Garden Extra: This garden will feature a mini-exhibition entitled Tulipmania as a part of the Open Day.