Private Garden Tours
July 11 – July 20
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Garden tours are $5 per person per garden payable in cash at each garden on the day of the garden tour. Gardens are open from 10 am to 4 pm only on the days specified. All garden tours are rain or shine and nonrefundable.
Click here -> Garden Tours Brochure
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Tuesday, July 15
Roger and Mary Bowker’s Garden
151 Old County Road, E. Sandwich
Roger and Mary Bowker, both Master Gardeners, purchased an historic former dairy farm in 2001 and have spent the last 20 years rescuing 15 acres from invasive plants. Together they have created a serene landscape of garden rooms dotted with statuary and hydrangeas around a gazebo and pergola. Their property also features a formal herb garden and an orchard. The extensive vegetable garden is both a work of art and a labor of love where Roger, a purposeful New England gardener, and Mary, an enthusiastic grower of all things green and edible, happily work side by side.
Lots of unusual plants | Creative Ornaments | Pollinator Garden
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Tuesday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 16
JoAnn Piscillo’s Garden
81 Maple Lane, Brewster
If you have a passion for repurposing and a love for the unique, this garden is a must-see. JoAnn Piscillo’s lush quarter-acre oasis is home to more than 70 hydrangeas, both beloved classics and exciting new cultivars. A diverse array of shade-loving perennials also flourishes here, while a
sun-drenched cottage garden bursts with colorful dahlias, cleome, bee balm, cosmos, and salvia. Adding to the garden’s charm are flea market treasures and artfully arranged vignettes enlivening this enchanting space. Breathe in the delightful aromas of honeysuckle and lavender and enjoy the soothing sounds of bubbling fountains and cheerful birdsongs from charming birdbaths and houses.
Lots of hydrangeas | Creative Ornaments | Pollinator Garden | Dog-friendly
FYI: Mal Condon, The Hydrangea Guy of Cape Cod, will be at this garden to speak to visitors and answer questions at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on July 16th.
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Wednesday, July 16
Dan and C.L. Fornari’s Garden
2 Lawrence Pond Lane, Sandwich
Discover what two plant-lovers (one a marine geologist and the other a garden speaker/writer) have done with their 2.5 acres which slope down to Lawrence Pond and feature unusual trees, flowering shrubs, and an organic lawn that hasn’t been fertilized in 12 years. This informal, country-style property has flower power! During your visit you’ll see vibrant perennial beds, a large vegetable garden, annuals in containers, native plants, a large grape arbor, a solar heated seed-starting shed and more than 35 varieties of hydrangeas. You can also enjoy the perfume and motion in the fragrance/bird garden.
Lots of hydrangeas | Lots of unusual plants | Pollinator Garden
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Wednesday, July 16 and Thursday, July 17
Joanne Robichaud’s Garden
27 Marble Road, Barnstable
Tiny maples, hydrangeas, and gallon-sized rhododendrons planted over 40 years ago have matured to become the backbone of this glorious garden. Newer rock walls that have been added to retain difficult hills add structure and naturally define garden areas. The bright, rich colors of the sun-loving plantings keep surprising as daylilies, coneflowers, phlox, daisy, hibiscus, and liatris burst with vivid combinations of color and texture. A red maple offers a shady canopy to a wide variety of hosta while astilbes add contrast when their wispy stalks bloom. Stands of heirloom hydrangeas have been augmented through the years with newer varieties to incorporate gorgeous colors, shapes and sizes.
Lots of hydrangeas | Dog-friendly | Wheelchair and Walker-friendly
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Thursday, July 17
Bob and Peg Black’s Garden
441 Old Harbor Road, Chatham
Nestled behind a tall hedge in North Chatham, the 30-year old garden of retired landscape designer Peg Black and her husband Bob reflects their careful planning and devoted maintenance. This “garden for all seasons” features multiple garden rooms, a lovely patio pond, and uncommon trees and shrubs such as Weeping Deodar Cedar, variegated Japanese Snowbell, Chinese Sweet Shrub, and Maple ‘Autumn Moon’. More than 100 hydrangeas planted in the shade of Kousa dogwoods and evergreens create a flowering wonderland. A classic cottage garden planted with roses, perennials, and oriental lilies scents the air. Last open to the public in 2016, this garden is not to be missed.
Lots of hydrangeas | Lots of unusual plants | Pollinator Garden
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Thursday, July 17 and Friday, July 18
Patty Mullens’ Garden
156 Beech Leaf Island Rd., Centerville
Welcome to Patty Mullens’ peaceful garden retreat. In the middle of the recent pandemic Patty moved her permanent residence from suburban New Jersey to this secluded Centerville property surrounded by woods. Since then, she has turned her yard into a bucolic habitat for songbirds, hummingbirds and even owls. Her gardens, all of which she designed and maintains herself, are filled with hydrangeas as well as roses, astilbe, ferns, coneflowers and other perennials selected because they do well on the Cape. A beautiful backyard stone patio provides a perfect spot to relax and enjoy the fruits of her labor.
Lots of hydrangeas
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Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19
Richard and Allyn Michaelson’s Garden
12 Sheeps Crossing Lane, Woods Hole/Falmouth
Richard and Allyn Michaelson built their home in 1994. Now, 30 years into what started as their five-year landscaping plan, their gardens have developed into mature, diverse, and constantly evolving spaces. The front garden is distinguished by stunning beech, Japanese maple, and Kousa dogwood trees as well as a blanket of lush hydrangeas, ferns, hosta, rhododendron, rose of sharon, butterfly bushes and day lilies. The rear of the property features an inground pool, framed by a stone retaining wall that supports a stunning and vibrant patchwork of hydrangeas, hosta, daylilies, and other plantings. There is also a tranquil hilltop terrace with shade-tolerant plantings.
Lots of hydrangeas | Pollinator Garden
FYI: Mal Condon, The Hydrangea Guy of Cape Cod, will be at this garden to speak to visitors and answer questions at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on July 18th.
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Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19
George and Marcia Chapman’s Garden
28 Sady’s Lane, E. Falmouth
George and Marcia Chapman, both life-long horticulturists, love their high maintenance 40-year-old garden but recognize that they are not getting any younger. While still committed to acquiring unusual plants and undertaking new garden projects, they have begun making alterations with the future in mind. Come see where they have removed large evergreens and transplanted shrubs. Enjoy more than 100 kinds of native plants and 57 varieties of hydrangeas interspersed among the hundreds of plants on this half-acre lot. Explore every pathway and pass through every archway for inspiration, ideas and surprises. This spectacular garden has been featured in Fine Gardening, Cape Cod Home and Falmouth Living magazines.
Lots of hydrangeas | Lots of unusual plants
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Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19
George & Kristin Karakehian’s Garden
100 Gibson Road, Orleans
George and Kristin Karakehian have summered in their Orleans home for 40 years. Twenty years ago, they set about establishing their gardens which today feature 90 hydrangeas, including serrata, macrophylla, paniculata, and arborescens varieties as well as Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris or climbing hydrangea. “Every time we purchase new hydrangeas our lawn gets smaller,” laughs the couple who have designed their gardens and maintain them as well. In addition to hydrangeas, they have a special fondness for dahlias. Their gardens also include daisies, butterfly weed and roses. Among the 35 varieties of hydrangeas in their garden you will find a number that are no longer in commercial production. Their favorites are black-stemmed H.m.’Zorro’ and H.m.’Cityline Paris.’
Lots of hydrangeas
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Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19
Dan Pessoni’s Garden
4 Driftwood Lane, Orleans
Dan Pessoni is known locally as “Dan, the Lily Man” and rightly so. His Driftwood Garden is the Outer Cape’s only nationally registered American Daylily Display Garden, with 700 different labeled varieties. In addition, this garden contains 350 labeled varieties of hosta, with special beds for small and miniature varieties. Interspersed among the hosta are heuchera, ferns, and Solomon’s Seal. Driftwood Garden also boasts a collection of more than 100 labeled hydrangea varieties and a large vegetable garden. Located throughout the property are 15 specimen trees, including stewartia, hepatacodium (seven son flower), tricolor leaf beech and heritage birch. Come meet Dan in his wonderland.
Lots of hydrangeas | Lots of unusual plants