The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program for 2011 begins on Saturday, May 7 in Suffolk County, at three private gardens in Old Field and Stony Brook, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to each private garden is $5, Open Days are rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Call 1-888-842-2442, or visit www.opendaysprogram.org for more information.
On May 7, visit the private garden, Two Grey Achers (88 Old Field Road, Old Field), which uses conifers, rhododendrons, azaleas, Japanese maples, and companion plants to create a tapestry of color, texture and form on two acres adjacent to Conscience Bay. At Sue Bottigheimer’s Garden (61 Cedar Street, Stony Brook), wooded paths are bordered by rare plants and columbines, blooming azaleas fill the flowerbeds, and borrowed views extend the half-acre property. At Robert & Hélène’s Garden on Hollow Road (67 Hollow Road, Stony Brook), special features include an akebia-shaded arbor, stacked-rock walls used for terracing, as well as dogwoods, ornamental bamboo, and prolific trumpet vines.
The Garden Conservancy introduced the Open Days program in 1995 as a means of introducing the public to gardening, providing easy access to outstanding examples of design and horticultural practice, and proving that exceptional American gardens are still being created. The Open Days program is America’s only national private garden-visiting program, and is made possible by the work of hundreds of volunteers nationwide. Visit the Garden Conservancy and its Open Days program online at www.opendaysprogram.org.
