The public is invited to tour three private gardens in Doylestown and Stockton, N.J., through the Garden Conservancy Open Days program, to benefit the Garden Conservancy Mission.
The Open Day is rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, and no reservations are required. Admission is $10 per garden; children 12 and under are free.
Call 888-842-2442, or visit
gardenconservancy.org/open-days for information.
An additional Bucks County Open Day takes place on Oct. 5, in Doylestown and New Hope.
Gardens featured on Aug. 10 include:
• Pretty Bird Farm, 137 Kingwood Stockton Road, Stockton, N.J. This is a vegetable and flower garden, growing heirloom tomatoes and specialty cut flowers to sell to neighbors and local small businesses. Overlooking the Rosemont Valley, the farm is a low water use site and owners use organic fertilizers, no pesticides, and care for their garden to support the bees, butterflies and birds.
• Bellsflower Garden, 33 Rittenhouse Road, Stockton, N.J. Bellsflower is a garden of flowers from spring through fall. In 1995, the owners started garden beds with little knowledge and lots of enthusiasm. Plants were chosen for color and size and often just because they caught an eye at the garden center. Knowledge came with time. Plants that survived and thrived began to shape the garden.
• Fordhook Farm of W. Atlee Burpee Co., 105 New Britain Road, Doylestown. Hundreds of new vegetables, annuals and perennials are still grown, tested and evaluated on a 60-acre test farm and network of gardens. In addition, there are extensive display gardens, and over 30 new tree specimens have been added since the last Open Day.
Large-scale sculpture by Steve Tobin and Daisuke Shintani animate the landscape. The 16-acre core of the property, including the original Burpee Seed House, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Burpee horticulturists will answer questions about Fordhook Farm and make suggestions for visitors’ own gardens.
All Open Days gardens are featured in the 2019 Open Days Directory, which includes a complementary ticket for admission to one private garden. The directory includes garden listings in 14 states and costs $25, including shipping.
Visit
gardenconservancy.org/open-days or call 888-842-2442 to order with a credit card, or send a check or money order to: the Garden Conservancy, P.O. Box 608, Garrison, NY 10524. Discount admission tickets are available as well through advanced mail order.
