On Saturday, June 28, six private gardens in Doylestown, Erwinna, Mechanicsville, New Hope, and Wrightstown will open to the public through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Open Day is rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Admission to each private garden is $5; children 12 & under free.

Visitors may begin the June 28^th tour at any of the following locations:

• Fordhook Farm of the W. Atlee Burpee Co., 105 New Britain Road, Doylestown – a sixty-acre test farm and research headquarters for Burpee and The Cook’s Garden varieties.
• Garden of Jon Carloftis, 105 Geigel Hill Road, Erwinna – features a pear tree allée, English-style borders, a geometric garden with roses and dahlias, and a cedar treehouse that utilizes recycled doors and windows.
• Sutphin Garden, 4940 Hansell Road, Mechanicsville – includes perennial borders, a grape arbor, a vegetable/cutting garden, and small fruit plantings designed to complement the 1812 farmhouse, as well as a pond and wildflower meadow.
• Jericho Mountain Orchards, 136 Buckmanville Road, New Hope – a terraced country garden with many varieties of old shrub and climbing roses, perennial borders, formal parterre beds, a shady pond and stream, and a sizable nineteenth-century apple orchard.
• Paxson Hill Farm, 3265 Comfort Road, New Hope – ten acres of estate gardens feature a granite-edged formal parterre with a knot garden, reflecting ponds with fountains, a weeping Tupelo tunnel, a yellow garden with a bocce court, 330-foot double perennial borders, and a population of swans, geese, peacocks, and guinea fowl.
• Hortulus Farm, 60 Thompson Mill Road, Wrightstown – an eighteenth-century working farmstead that merges with the surrounding landscape with naturalized shrubs and perennials along a stream and woodland, as well as formal borders, follies, gazebos, and large herb and vegetable gardens.

A special addition to the Bucks County Open Day is the opportunity to view the monumental sculptures of Steve Tobin in two unique local settings. Opening June 28, the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown features the exhibition, Out of this World: Works by Steve Tobin. After visiting the Michener Art Museum, more of Steve Tobin’s work is installed amongst the gardens at Fordhook Farm in Doylestown. Free admission to Fordhook Farm will be given to visitors that bring their receipt from the Steve Tobin exhibit at the museum.

Open Days gardens are featured in the 2014 Open Days Directory; a soft-cover book that includes detailed driving directions and vivid descriptions written by their owners. The directory includes garden listings in twenty-two states and costs $25.95 including shipping. Visit www.opendaysprogram.org or call the Garden Conservancy toll-free at 1-888-842-2442 to order with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express, or send a check or money order to: the Garden Conservancy, P.O. Box 219, Cold Spring, NY 10516. Discount admission tickets are available as well through advanced mail order.

We Are Supported By: