Some people say Maine has only two seasons — winter and July.

But if you’re a gardener — and most people in Maine are to some degree — you know there are lots of little micro-seasons to enjoy. There’s garden-prep season, planting season and plant sale season.

Beginning this week, we begin the time when private gardens across the state are opened to the public, so that others may enjoy them and gather ideas — garden tour season.

Garden tours are also a big fundraisers for garden clubs and other local groups, not to mention a really fun way to see what others are doing with their gardens.

Some, like an upcoming tour in Cape Elizabeth, bring you to seaside estates and other oceanfront vistas. Others, like one on Munjoy Hill in Portland, show you how to be creative with small, urban spaces.

Most are self-guided, so you can take your time and see the gardens at your leisure.

Advertisement

Here’s a look at some of the garden tours scheduled around the area in the coming weeks:

FRIDAY

Sixth Annual Belfast Garden Club Open Garden Days, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 26. At gardens in Belfast and surrounding towns. $4 for each garden or $15 for a five-visit ticket. Belfastgardenclub.org; 338-3105.

Instead of opening a bunch of gardens on one day — like a lot of garden clubs do — the Belfast Garden Club has a summer-long series where they open one garden a week to the public. Tickets are purchased at each garden.

The Belfast garden on view this week was created specifically for the owners’ roles as grandparents, so it’s designed for easy maintenance and with play areas for children — gentle slopes with steps, paths, and stone and iron frogs and rabbits. Plantings range from juniper, Siberian iris and day lilies to ground cover of pink and blue lungwort. The garden is handicapped accessible.

To see a list of upcoming open gardens and directions, go to Belfastgardenclub.org.

Advertisement

SATURDAY

The Secret Gardens of Portland, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., various locations around Deering Center, Portland. $20 in advance; $25 day of the tour. Portedfound@gmail; 712-0547.

This is a self-guided tour of 10 private home gardens in Portland, mostly around the Deering Center neighborhood.

One garden is designed for four-season interest, with crocuses and tulips that start to show in March, as well as pink chrysanthemums that bloom in late fall. Another garden includes a greenhouse with fruit trees, beehives and chickens, and yet another includes more than 2,000 bulbs.

The tour is a fundraiser for the Portland Education Foundation. Tickets and maps are available at local businesses including Rosemont Bakery, Big Sky Bakery and Jet Video. The tour will be held rain or shine.

“Each year we are amazed at the beautiful creativity Portland residents have for their yards,” said Mary Gross, vice president of the foundation. “(This year’s gardens) really showcase innovative ways to have a sustainable, edible, yet beautiful oasis that give you a country feel nestled in the heart of the city.”

Advertisement

 

Sagadahoc Preservation Ninth Annual House Tour of Architectural Gems and Hidden Gardens, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Winter Street Center, 880 Washington St., Bath. $20 in advance; $25 day of tour. Sagadahocpreservation.org; 443-8812.

Here’s a two-for-one deal: gardens and houses. The tour will feature nine properties representing a range of architectural styles in the historic riverfront city. Gardens will include waterfront properties, great views and hidden in-city treasures.

The Bath Garden Club is providing arrangements for the homes, and artists from the Kennebec Art Club will be painting in the gardens and selling notecards with renderings of some of the homes.

There will also be a lecture at 8:30 a.m. by Steve Thomas, former host of “This Old House” on PBS, and book signings at the Front Street waterfront home with two authors: Dana Moos (“The Art of Breakfast”) and Chris Glass (“Historic Maine Homes”).

JULY 9

Advertisement

Maine Home + Design Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., locations in Cape Elizabeth, including Fort Williams Park. $20 in advance; $25 day of tours. Arboretumatfortwilliams.org; 780-4205.

Ten gardens in Cape Elizabeth, including an historic estate, a small farm, a seaside property, a cottage garden and a Japanese-style garden, will be featured in this tour.

Other gardens will feature native North American plants, native wetland plants and woodland plants. The tour benefits the proposed Arboretum at Fort Williams Park.

One of the sites on the tour will be the “cliff side” section of the proposed arboretum, adjacent to the park’s Cliff Walk and Battery Hobart, and near the flagpole. The site has been cleared somewhat, but plantings won’t take place until 2012. The entire arboretum project as proposed will have 15 sites around the park linked by trails.

Tickets will be available at arboretumatfortwilliams.org and at several local businesses, including Estabrooks, O’Donal’s and Skillins nurseries, the Pond Cove IGA in Cape Elizabeth, and the Hannaford supermarket in Mill Creek, South Portland. The rain date is July 10.

JULY 10

Advertisement

Hidden Gardens of Munjoy Hill, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 92 Congress St. and several private homes in the Munjoy Hill area of Portland. $15 in advance; $20 day of the tour. Hiddengardensofmunjoyhill.org; 577-0648.

Self-guided tour of 12 gardens on Portland’s Munjoy Hill, a densely-populated neighborhood east of downtown bordering the Eastern Promenade and Casco Bay. Artists who are members of the Society for East End Arts will also have their studios open to the public, and the locations will be included on the map of the garden locations. The event is sponsored by Friends of the Eastern Promenade, and will be held rain or shine.

JULY 16

Spectacular Gardens of Scarborough Garden Tour, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hunnewell House, Black Point Road, and other locations around Scarborough. $15 in advance; $20 day of the tour. Gardenz@maine.rr.com; 839-4033.

The Scarborough Garden Club’s annual event boasts “no repeat” gardens from last year. There are nine gardens total, and six of them are within walking distance of one another. The event will be held rain or shine. Advance tickets will be available at several local businesses, including Broadway Gardens in South Portland, O’Donal’s Nursery in Gorham, and both Ace Hardware locations in Scarborough.

Staff Writer Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier@pressherald.com

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.