PA Garden Tour Opens Private Bucks Co. Gardens To The Public

NEWTOWN, PA — Over the next two weekends, more than 90 gardens spanning 12 counties across Pennsylvania will open their dirt and grass covered pathways for Pennsylvania’s first ever Garden Party.

From Pittsburgh to Bucks County, garden clubs are teaming up with the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania to showcase their local backyard gardens and public landscapes over the next two Saturdays during an unprecedented peek at Pennsylvania’s hidden, flowering gems.

The party starts this Saturday between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the first batch of gardens welcome visitors, including eight in Bucks County organized by the Countryside Gardeners of Newtown. They include six private gardens in Newtown, one in Bensalem and the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in Solebury.

The party continues on June 27 with a second batch of gardens, including seven backyard flowering gems organized by the Old York Road Garden Club of Elkins Park. That tour will include a home on Pebble Hill in Doylestown as well as gardens in Elkins Park, Willow, and Horsham.

Among the backyard gems on this weekend’s tour is the Penn Street Garden of Amy Smith located across from the Newtown Cemetery. Her backyard garden is an evolution of hard work and planning with a focus on native plantings.

Amy Smith's garden in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Amy Smith's garden in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Amy Smith's garden in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

She began planning out her gardens four years ago after moving here from Washington Crossing from a heavily wooded property that made gardening a challenge. Her Newtown garden, by contrast, is completely exposed to the sunlight, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for her itchy green thumb.

Her first bed, planted a scant four years ago, is brimming with natives and buzzing with visiting pollinators.

Subsequent beds are a work in progress, spotlighting the stages of garden development and the beauty that can be created by using natives.

Among her many plantings are four different types of milkweed, which she added for the Monarch butterflies. Her favorite is the butterfly weed, which blooms orange.

A lost tree from a winter storm provided an opportunity to create a fire pit area and outside seating area amidst her fledgling backyard oasis. And wood chips from the fallen tree provided bedding for her work in progress.

She’s also added a water feature, enhancing the backyard garden experience and another point of interest.

A walk with her among her carefully tended beds shows the evolution of a native garden over time.

“I’m just getting started. It’s not my complete masterpiece yet, but you can see how it has transformed over time,” said Amy.

While much of her backyard is devoted to natives, a garden patch alongside of her home is reserved for some non-natives and other favorite flowers and plantings.

Amy Smith's garden in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Amy Smith's garden in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Amy Smith's garden in Newtown. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Tickets for Saturdays tour will be sold on the day of the tour at the Half-Moon Inn at 105 Court Street in Newtown Borough. The $30 ticket is good for both weekends and at every garden open during the party.

Next weekend, tickets will be sold at the Richard Wall House Museum, One Wall Park Drive, Elkins Park.

For the statewide tour, 15 clubs from the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania have organized lovely gardens that will be in bloom across the state - from west of Pittsburgh to Clarion in the north, and through Lancaster all the way to east of Valley Forge.