Stonington Gardens By The Sea Event Returns This Summer

Information via Stonington Garden Club

STONINGTON, CT -- Stonington Garden Club announced today that tickets are now available for its “Gardens by the Sea” walking tour of rarely-seen private gardens in the Borough of Stonington. The event will be held Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11, with a special Preview Party on June 9. This popular triennial event, postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, is expected to attract over 2,000 visitors from across New England.

Gardens by the Sea will offer a diversity of waterfront vistas, flowering borders, intriguing stonework, and charming patios surrounded by lush and unusual plantings. Visitors will explore eight residential gardens, ranging from formal perennial plantings to intimate pocket gardens, and the COMO Children’s Learning Garden, the club’s primary community project featuring regenerative gardening techniques. All gardens will feature plant labels and landscape garden plans, and knowledgeable garden club members will be on hand to answer questions. All gardens are within walking distance, and free parking will be available.

“We are thrilled to welcome everyone to our 14th Gardens by the Sea,” said Deborah Dodds, president of the Stonington Garden Club. “The funds raised by Gardens by the Sea enable us to give back to our community by supporting our projects, community grant program, and educational scholarships. We are enormously grateful to all who support this critically important event.”

“We are so thankful to our garden hosts, the tour committee, club and community volunteers, the Town and Borough of Stonington, and generous advertising sponsors for all they are doing to make this a successful event,” said Laura Metzger, Gardens by the Sea Tour Chair. “It has been a labor of love for our club, and we are excited to welcome visitors once again to experience the stunning beauty of Stonington Borough’s gardens.”

Artists in the Borough

In addition to the gardens, the tour will feature “Artists in the Borough,” a showcase of specially curated “Plein Air” artists from all over New England. The artists will be painting in selected gardens and other locations in the Borough, drawing inspiration from our seaside village landscapes. Their work will be available for purchase at the Artists in the Borough Pop-Up Gallery, which will be open to the public at the La Grua Center in the Borough.

Marketplace in Wadawanuck Square

A tented Marketplace located on Wadawanuck Square will feature a wide variety of vendors, offering garden-inspired items as well as clothing, jewelry, and home decor. Also included are four Community Partners who will have representatives to answer questions about regenerative gardening techniques, conservation, plant health, composting, and volunteer opportunities. These include Coogan Farm Giving Garden, Avalonia Land Conservancy, the UConn Master Gardener Program, and the UConn Master Composter Program.

Celebrity Speaker Series

New to this year’s tour is our Celebrity Speaker, Charlie Nardozzi, who will speak on both days of the tour at 1:00 pm at the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club in the Borough. Charlie is a regional Emmy® award-winning garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. He has worked for more than 30 years bringing expert gardening information to home gardeners and delights in making gardening information easy, fun, and accessible to everyone.