Public Invited To Explore The Secret Gardens Of Newtown

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — A self-guided tour will wind its way through the lovely backyards and gardens of Newtown Borough and Newtown Township on Saturday, June 24.

Sponsored by the Newtown Historic Association (NHA), the self-guided garden tour will cover three miles and include stops at 15 local gardens.

Among the stops will be Newtown’s own secret garden at the home of Rebecca and Ernest Bancroft on Center Avenue where visitors will experience a backyard designed by Karen
Waitkus.

The yard was designed in phases and includes three different outdoor spaces, or as Rebecca likes to call them, “rooms.”

“There’s a little room next to the house that we call the little grotto room. It’s got a fountain, a Buddha, and a gong,” says Rebecca.

In the middle "room" is a pergola and fire pit area “where we hang out when we have company,” Rebecca shares. It's also a frequent hangout for her children and their friends.

And to the back of the property is a third “room” where the family pool is located. A barn acts as a “pool house. That’s our summer entertainment area," says Rebecca.

“People are always surprised at how deep the yards are in the borough, especially where we are,” she said.

A sundial in the backyard garden at the Half Moon Inn (Court Inn).

Bancroft said her favorite part of the yard varies by season. “Definitely right now the pool area is the nicest. It’s quiet,” she says. “The backyard is an extension of the house. It’s like another living room outside,” she relates.

A unique aspect of the garden is that you enter it through an actual front door built into the thick hedge surrounding the yard.

“When we built our new addition, we took the old door and we incorporated it into the yard so there’s actually a door,” she said. “I think people will find that to be fun.

“I think people who take this tour will be surprised at the ingenuity and imagination" of the owners. At the same time, she said it will give them "ideas to take home and try in their own backyards."

Registration for the tour begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by the tour at 9 a.m. Meet in the rear garden of the NHA headquarters, the Half Moon Inn, 105 Court Street, Newtown 18940. Breakfast snacks will be available for all patrons. Some driving will be required to take the tour.

Tickets are $15 with the proceeds benefiting the maintenance and improvement of the Boone Garden. The Boone Garden is owned by the NHA and is located on Court Street directly across from the Half-Moon Inn. It is a featured garden on the tour.

For information, call Mary Jo Garner at 215-858-0939 or Keyna Crawford at 267-679-9287, or visit the NHA website by clicking here.

(Garden photos by Jeff Werner)