Open Days Timeline

December 2024

• 1995
  • The first Open Days season, featuring 110 gardens in New York and Connecticut
  • First edition of the Garden Conservancy Open Days Directory is printed
  • First meeting of Open Days regional ambassadors held in Cold Spring, NY
• 1997
  • First Open Days in the western U.S. are held in Carmel, CA, and Honolulu, HI
• 1998
  • Janet Meakin Poor becomes first chair of Open Days and leads a national expansion of the program
  • Meeting of Open Days regional ambassadors in Birmingham, AL
• 2000
  • The Open Days schedule goes online with the launch of the Garden Conservancy website
• 2005
  • James deGrey David becomes second national chair of Open Days
• 2006
  • Hicks Garden in Austin, TX, attracts 2,452 visitors in just one day
• 2007
  • Meeting of Open Days regional ambassadors in Austin, TX
• 2008
  • Open Days Directory becomes complimentary to Garden Conservancy members
• 2009
  • “Limestone & Water” symposium at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center held with Open Day in Austin, TX
• 2013
  • First Open Day held in Charleston, SC, in partnership with the Charleston Horticultural Society
• 2014
  • An advisory committee of key Open Days participants from around the country meets in Cold Spring, NY, to explore the future of the program
• 2015
  • The Garden Conservancy is awarded the Wilfred J. Jung Distinguished Service Medal by the Garden Writers Association (now Garden Communications International) for the Open Days program
  • The Digging Deeper educational series launches to supplement Open Days self-guided garden visits
• 2016
  • Printed Open Days Directory returns by popular demand after a one-year hiatus
• 2017
  • James Brayton Hall becomes the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Garden Conservancy
• 2020
  • Garden Conservancy board of directors forms an Open Days Committee
  • The Garden Conservancy begins offering virtual talks as a way for gardeners to stay connected during the COVID pandemic
• 2021
  • Open Days Directory is not printed due to the pandemic, but available online Electronic ticketing for Open Days is rolled out
• 2022
  • Open Days Directory returns in print
• 2023
  • Open Days attendance returns to pre-pandemic levels
• 2024
  • Five gardens in Palm Springs, CA, open on March 2, our earliest Open Days date ever
  • Open Days returns to Alabama, coinciding with the film documentary premiere of A Garden in Conversation: Louise Agee Wrinkle’s Southern Woodland Sanctuary in Birmingham