BELFAST GARDEN CLUB ANNOUNCES 2010 OPEN GARDEN DAYS
An
annual growing season treat is about to begin in our local area,
Belfast Garden Club’s Open Garden Days. The 5th annual event features
14 gardens from Belfast to Searsport, Jackson to Orland and in between.
One garden per week will be open to the public from 10-4 Fridays, from
May 28-September 10. See OPEN GARDEN DAYS page for the schedule and description of all the gardens.
The garden tour offers a diverse range of
gardens and grounds, from relatively new gardens to 30 year projects,
gardens started from scratch or modified from old landscaping on
historic sites. Among the varied list of Open Gardens this season are
English style formal gardens, organic experiments, butterfly gardens, a
Zen Garden, a Farm, the Troy Howard Middle School garden project, and
The New Forest Institute’s “edible forest”.
As the season
progresses, witness the change in plants in bloom, from flowering trees
and bushes, to fragrant flowers, herbs, nuts and berries. In addition,
visitors can expect to see succulents, an orchid collection, unusual
bulb flowers, rare perennials and trees, and New England heritage
plants over the course of the summer tour.
See how different
gardeners design, plant and manage their gardens, and how what they
plant makes each garden different. Garden features to be on the lookout
for include historic architecture, birdhouses, birdbaths, rock walls,
garden sculpture, ponds and fountains.
Participants of the
Garden Tour can take advantage of the knowledge of the gardeners to
answer questions and help solve their own garden challenges. The
gardens of the 2010 Tour feature raised vegetable beds, composting
systems, cold frames, a garlic berm, a non-pesticide “eco-lawn”,
“lasagna style” planting method, dome trellises for squash and
cucumbers, water collection systems, mulched beds and more!
Many
of the gardeners will be on hand to answer questions, and several will
offer special demonstrations, iced tea, or a place to lay your blanket
for a picnic (bring your own). Details are available in the Tour
brochure, available in the decorative birdhouses in the Post Office
Square garden in Belfast, and on the Belfast Garden Club website.
Tickets
can be purchased at each garden, on the day of the tour for a donation
of $4 for one garden, or $15 for a five-visit ticket. Proceeds from the
2010 Garden Tour will benefit the Club’s civic beautification projects.
For more information call: Diane Allmayer-Beck at 338-5748, Martha Laitin at 948-2815, or visit www.belfastgardenclub.org.
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| Belfast Free Library garden. Photo by Sara Shute |
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| Crabapple Allee,City Park. Photo by Sara Shute |
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| Water Loo during Christmas season. Photo: Sara Shute (www.millerstreet.biz) |
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Water Loo garden at the public restrooms near the harbor. Not only were the plantings created, but the stone steps and stone work were also created by the Belfast Garden Club Civic Beautification Committee members.
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The
Garden Club meets at 1 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month from
September through May at St. Margaret's Parish House, 95 Court Street,
Belfast.
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