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Explore Vermont

It’s nearly time to stop and smell the flowers in Vermont public gardens.

Five Vermont public gardens worth visiting this spring and summer showcase peonies, roses, hydrangeas, sunflowers, lavender, fruit trees, and more. Some gardens require admission, while others are open for free.

Hildene in Manchester

-courtesy of Hildene

Hildene is a 412-acre estate that was home to three generations of President Lincoln’s descendants from 1905 to 1975. The Hildene estate, which opened to the public in 1978, includes a Georgian revival mansion, observatory, welcome center, and the Dene Farm.

The property is one of the most popular Vermont public gardens, and for good reason. Every June, about 100 fragrant peonies are in bloom in the Formal Garden at Hildene.

In 1908, President Lincoln’s granddaughter, Jessie Lincoln, designed the garden for her mother, Mary Harlan Lincoln.

The best time to see the peonies at Hildene is weather-dependent, but the peonies generally bloom at the beginning of June. The Formal Garden includes an assortment of peonies, including early and late blooming, so the peony bloom season typically lasts about three weeks.

The Formal Garden also includes a mix of perennial flowers that bloom throughout the season, as well as a few annuals. The garden beds are organized by color in yellow, pink, white, and blue .

Admission $6-$23; children under 5 admitted free. Hildene is open year-round.  (1005 Hildene Road, Manchester; hildene.org )

Park-McCullough Historic Governor’s House in Bennington

-courtesy of the Park-McCullough House

The Park-McCullough House is one of the most thoughtfully preserved Victorian mansions in New England. The mansion was built in 1864-65 by Trenor Park, a self-educated lawyer who married the daughter of a former Vermont governor and made his fortune in the California Gold Rush.

A new Victorian-themed garden will grace the mansion’s grounds this summer, featuring peonies, roses, boxwood, hydrangeas, lavender, and ferns, among other Victorian flowers surrounded by burning bush and hostas.

The mansion’s garden is also the setting for concerts, yoga classes, outdoor movies, tea parties, paint-and-sip garden parties, bourbon and cigar nights, and more.

The Park-McCullough House opens for the season on May 26, 2023 , and the garden is open to the public for free. (1 Park Street, North Bennington; parkmccullough.org )

Justin Morrill Homestead in Strafford

-photo courtesy of The Justin Morrill Homestead 

The Justin Morrill Homestead is a national landmark and state historic site in Strafford. Morrill was a U.S. Congressman and Senator recognized for sponsoring landmark legislation that helped establish public universities. He is also known for framing core language in the 14th Amendment, providing equal protection of life, liberty, and property for all persons in the United States, including civil rights for freed slaves in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Morrill built a 17-room Gothic Revival mansion in 1851 and surrounded his home with gardens. Today, many of the original plantings made by Morrill remain. The gardens include circuitous serpentine walkways, arabesque beds planted with colorful annuals, anorchard of heritage apples, and historic specimen trees, including the Magnolia kobus and the oldest Norway spruce in Vermont.

Morrill laid out the gardens for his Victorian landscape to enjoy decorative flower beds in front of the house in an area referred to as “the pleasure ground.” He also planted a garden behind the house with herbs, semi-dwarf fruit trees, and vegetables to serve as a working laboratory to test plant cold hardiness.

The homestead will open May 26, 2023 . The gardens are open to the public for free, even when the house is closed. ( 214 Justin Morrill Memorial Highway, Strafford; morrillhomestead.org )

The Sunflower House at Billings Farm in Woodstock

-photo by Abby Rowlee

The Sunflower House in Woodstock features thousands of sunflowers in more than 100 different varieties. The flowers range from 18 inches to 14 feet in height to form the rooms and hallways in this maze-like structure.

Benjamin Pauly, the master gardener at the nearby Woodstock Inn & Resort , first created the house of flowers two years ago. The house is part of Billings Farm & Museum, a historic dairy farm known for its award-winning herd of Jersey dairy cows. Founded in 1871, Billings Farm is committed to sustainable agricultural practices and educational programming.

The Sunflower House opens July 29, 2023 , and visitors can enjoy sunflowers in bloom until mid-September.

Admission $10-$17; children under 4 admitted free. (69 Old River Road, Woodstock; billingsfarm.org )

Shelburne Museum

The 45-acre Shelburne Museum includes 20 gardens with perennial and annual flowers, herb and heirloom vegetables, and flowering fruit trees.

The Bostwick Garden, for example, is designed to evoke an artists’ color pallet, while the J. Watson Webb Jr. Memorial Peony Garden features more than 700 peonies in 25 varieties.

Founded by Electra Havemeyer Webb in 1947, Shelburne Museum’s collection includes impressionist paintings, folk art, the Steamboat Ticonderoga, and the historic Colchester Reef Lighthouse.

The museum opens for the season May 13, 2023 . Admission 8-$23; children under 5 admitted free.  (6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne; shelburnemuseum.org )

-Main photo courtesy of Hildene 

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Vermont Garden Tour 2021

Join us throughout August and September as we feature Open Houses at community gardens across the state. These spaces nourish our families and neighbors, and also become outdoor classrooms, artistic displays, collaborative food donation projects and gathering spots to connect people within communities… all with stories and knowledge to share!

Open Houses are family friendly, free and open to all. Come visit us, meet some neighbors and be inspired.

Visit our map of sites to find a site near you or hit the road and tour all eight sites in August and September!

Morrisville Community Garden – Wednesday, August 4 between 5-7:30pm. In conjunction with the town’s weekly live music series, we’re opening our gates for tours of our garden at Oxbow Park.

6:00-6:45pm: Brian Norder, fellow gardener and semi-retired food processing consultant, will give tips on easy and non-intimidating ways to preserve your crop, including water bath and pressure canning, freezing, drying, quick pickling, fermentation and a few other tricks. 

Garden at 485 Elm in Montpelier – Friday, August 13 between 5-7:30pm. Collective gardening – We’ll share resources, strategy and rules we use for organizing and keeping people engaged.  We care deeply about food security – learn about growing food for others and gleaning for garden health and donations for any size garden.

Born in 2014 when Sheryl and Chris, who weren’t gardeners, offered some of their lawn to neighbors to grow food. Now about twenty households per season share the work, the harvest and donate hundreds of pounds of food to neighbors and the organizations that help ensure Central Vermonter have access to fresh local food. This garden is grown collectively. No one has their own plot. Instead, we all tend the entire garden and its small-scale community compost system.

Barton Giving Garden – Saturday, August 21 between 10am-12pm Join us for a Garden Celebration and Family Day! Live music, garden tours and activities, hands-on mini workshops (seed starting, shallot braiding), crafts (corn husk doll making) and stories, plus free garden tools and books.

The Barton Community Garden is a giving garden established to grow food for our community, bring people together to work and celebrate gardening, and to support gardeners with mentoring and information.

Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington – Saturday, August 28 between 3-5pm Join us for Harvest Walk – Six garden tours in one – plus free family activities, educational exhibits and demonstrations, and a kids’ scavenger hunt.

The Ethan Allen Homestead is the proud host of several community gardens that are managed by partners from several local non-profits and community organizations. During the growing season the Ethan Allen Homestead comes alive with gardeners and activities in the Winooski Valley Community Garden and Discovery Garden, Vermont Community Garden Network’s Teaching Garden, the Family Room Garden, New Farms for New Americans and the Indigenous Heritage Center’s Abenacki Garden.

Windsor Community Garden – Saturday, September 11 between 10am-1pm Come see how we use remnants from industrial relics nearby; our trellis used to be the window frame in an old mill. Join us at 11am for a free workshop: How to Build a Backyard Composter.

Windsor’s Community Garden is celebrating its second year. We launched it in 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was shutting the state down. All but one of the gardeners bailed, so we ended up planting the bed ourselves. We were glad we did, as the Food Shelf’s lines were the longest we’d ever seen.

To reach us, look for the metal staircase behind the Mascoma Bank in the middle of town. Follow it down the hill, past the blooming perennials. We’re tucked inside a little courtyard with picnic tables and flower beds. This year, thanks to RiseVt.org and Mascoma Bank, we dumped out the old raised beds and replaced them with eight spanking new ones. Five can be worked without even bending down. The communal bed in the middle is where we tend all the fresh vegetables that go to the Food Shelf. Come see how we use fragments from industrial relics nearby; our trellis used to be the window frame in an old mill, and we share space with one of the town’s finest perennial gardens. 

The Gardens at Green Acres in Barre – Wednesday, Sept 15 between 2-5pm Everything Herbal— we’ll show you how to make teas, blends, honeys and vinegars using herbs you can grow in your gardens. Learn what herbs to grow in our area, which are the best choices for tea and blends, how to harvest, dry and store them. This will be a hands on class and participants will take home something yummy. 2-2:30 pm. garden tour 3:30-4pm. harvest, dry and storing herbs 4-5pm. making blends, teas, honeys and vinegars Plus children from the summer camp will share and talk about what they made/learned about herbs.

The Gardens at Green Acres Apartments in Barre, are a joint effort between Barre Housing, Good Food Good Medicine program and the Residents of Green Acres Apartments. They also provide a place for the children of this community to attend the Gardens for Learning summer camp. If you would like to volunteer for spring and fall projects or have a special topic to share please email us @ [email protected].

Green Street School, Brattleboro – Monday, September 20 between 4-6pm Join us for a veggie cooking demonstration and take home a spice packet and recipes for making your own seasonings.

GSS pioneered the 1st of the Brattleboro School Gardens in 2006 and aspires to learn from Mother Nature to collaboratively have fun growing food & green space for us all to enjoy being healthier happier human beings.

With a heart centered ecologically minded approach, our Garden Program is focused on developing Diversity: Growing Native & Pollinator plants, perennials, annuals, edibles, fungi & flowers, aesthetics, Integrating gardening into the school culture & classroom curriculum & growing relationships within our local & global community. We have recently expanded and are growing more native shrubs and fruiting trees for the school and broader community.

Marshfield Community Garden – Sunday, September 26 between 1-2:30pm All are welcome to attend the   1st annual Community Garden Open House and Gratitude Dedication Ceremony .  Please join our community in celebrating the collaborative efforts to establish a space for growing and community building. While there you can learn to garble dried herbs to add to your winter tea cabinet.  Also, you are welcome to decorate a flag that will hang around the garden for all to see: draw or write something with the theme ‘What does community mean to me?’.   Bring a special stone or marble to place in the gardens with your blessing and bring your mug to try some delicious warming tea grown in the gardens. See you there!

Started in 2014 with family plots and space to grow extra veggies for the community to harvest for free. Expanded in 2020 to grow more food for the community, and teamed up with the Conservation Commission to plant more fruit and nut trees, berries and perennials all over the schoolhouse grounds. It is important that the wider community feels comfortable harvesting vegetables and fruit from the gardens, this is their space and whoever would like to be involved is more than welcome.  We are creating as we go and welcome new ideas for gardens, workshops and community building.

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A harvest distribution day at a collective garden looks like this: a basket full of onions, winter squash lined up on a table and jars of dahlias. We believe collective gardening is an opportunity to increase access to fresh food and overcome barriers to growing food. And YOU can join this movement! We are looking to our community to help us kickstart a second collective garden in Burlington this season: 🌻 Starr Farm in the New North End - next to the dog park, playground, bike path and lake access - is where we are planting this new garden. 🌱 We are welcoming ten garden members to join the collective garden this season by offering ten full scholarships. 🍅 Applications are open! Link in bio. ...

Job announcement: we are hiring a Garden Apprentice to join us from May through October! We`ve welcomed stellar apprentices in the past, like Carolyn and Jade who are photographed in this post. The full job description, including hours and compensation, is linked in our bio. ...

Join us March 20th @savoytheatervt for a community event featuring a showing of the award-winning #regenerativeagriculture documentary, Common Ground, followed by a community conversation with Montpelier area #healthysoil advocates. Doors open at 5.30pm Film at 6pm. 🎟️ Buy tickets at savoytheater.com 🎟️ or follow link on our website ...

We are so very much looking forward to the @nofavermont Winter Conference on Saturday 2/17, and we hope to see you there! During Workshop Session 2, we`ll be facilitating a panel along with our friends and collaborators from @new_farms_for_new_americans and @ujamaafarms. The photos shared in this post capture a tiny peek into the work we`ve been doing with NFNA farmers over the past 3 years to identify crops that are culturally meaningful, improve growing practices, and save seeds for a community seed library. During the workshop, we`ll be listening to seed stories and reflecting on culturally meaningful crops. VGN will also be tabling in the exhibitors`s hall, stop by to say hi! ...

Grow alongside our plant friends and other aspiring gardeners and register for this year`s Thriving Gardens Course 🌱 The Thriving Gardens Course is a hands-on garden course that guides you through the entire growing season. Get inspired by reading through testimonies from Thrive graduates 🌞 then go to the link in our bio to read more and sign up today to take advantage of the early bird discount (extended to 2/19). ...

We are currently hiring for three part-time, seasonal positions to expand our Growing Food, Growing Communities program at affordable housing sites. Application deadline is February 23. Learn more and apply at the link in our bio! ...

Take advantage of our early bird registration discount and register for the Thriving Gardens Course before 2/12! Learn everything you need to know about the course at the link in our bio 🌱 (Photo of `23 Thrive grad, planning out her direct seeding layout for leaf and root crops! ) ...

There are three weeks left to apply for this year`s Fruit and Nut Tree Grant! The goals of the program are: 🌳 To increase public access to fruit and nut trees across Vermont, particularly at sites serving underserved populations 🌳 To ensure survival and proper care of these trees through technical assistance, educational offerings, and resource sharing. 🌳 To develop and share success stories and best practices for community fruit and nut tree planting, care and use. Go to our website (link in bio) to review the various guides we`ve created to determine if this opportunity is right for you. We look forward to hearing from you! As always, a BIG thank you to our partners @branchoutburlington and @vtforestsparksrecreation ...

In late November we read through Margaret Roach’s article in the NYTimes “This Seed Season, Consider a Catalog That Takes a Different Approach”, and felt inspired to share our complementary version of some of our favorite seed catalogs. We’ve included brief descriptions of seed companies that made our list and links to online catalogs for easy browsing. We wish you many hours of seed catalogue browsing this month! Link in bio 🌱 ...

It’s that time of the year when gardeners dive into seed catalogs and decide what they’ll grow this season. For those of you managing a tight household budget this year, coordinating a community-based project, supporting mutual aid initiatives and wondering where to source seeds: VGN’s Seed Donation Bundles are a great place to start. Follow the link in our bio to request a bundle while supplies last! ...

📣 Registration is open for our Thriving Gardens Course ! This course will, 🌱 Teach you how to grow veggies, flowers, herbs from start to finish through weekly - in the garden - classes May-October 🌱 Teach you how to use what you grow through monthly workshops e.g. fermentation, fabric dyeing, medicinal salves 🌱 Connect you to your community and environment 🌱 Provide all resources needed to grow your own fresh, homegrown veggies for your family, friends and neighbors 🌱 Boost confidence and a sense of purpose ....And so much more WE LOVE THIS COURSE AND YOU WILL TOO! Learn more about course details and how to sign up at the link in our bio ☀️ (Photo featuring the class of 2023 listening to UVM Professor Vic Izzo, one of our guest speakers, discussing Integrated Pest Management) ...

The 2024 Fruit & Nut Grant is officially OPEN. Review the grant preparation guide and site assessment resources and APPLY NOW! (link in bio) The goal of the grant is to increase public access to fruit and nut trees across the state, particularly at sites serving underserved populations. Planting fruit & nut trees not only provides better access to fresh fruit and nuts, but it offers an opportunity for connection through collective growing and education, as well as enhances community gathering spaces. This grant is in partnership with the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program (VT UCF) and has received financial and technical support from Branch Out Burlington!. ...

VGN is excited to announce a 3rd year of the Fruit & Nut Tree Grant! This grant is in partnership with the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program (VT UCF) and has received financial and technical support from @branchoutburlington . The goal of the grant is to increase public access to fruit and nut trees across the state, particularly at sites serving underserved populations. Planting fruit & nut trees not only provides better access to fresh fruit and nuts, but it offers an opportunity for connection through collective growing and education, as well as enhances community gathering spaces. The 2024 grant application will open the first week of January (three weeks away!) - keep an eye out on our website/socials for more information on grant guidelines, timeline, and how to apply. In the meantime, get inspired by learning more about last year’s grantees and their projects at the link in our bio. ...

The @branchoutburlington 17th Annual Tree sale is here! 🌳 Pre-order now for Spring pick up. Branch Out Burlington! is offering bare-root trees at affordable prices. Choose from many varieties of beautiful trees for shade, fruit, flowers, and fall color. All the trees are 5-6 feet tall, branched. Don`t delay these trees always sell out very early. For tree photos, descriptions, and to order online, go to the link in our bio! Questions? call or text Kyle 802 825 4505 or email [email protected] Proceeds from the sale support tree donations to schools and non-profits In Vermont (including VGN!), and to produce trees in the community for planting along Burlington`s streets. ...

Temps are low and mountains are covered in snow! ❄️ For many of us gardeners, winter is a time for rest, reflection, and for planning the season ahead. Any growth at this time of year is usually from within ourselves - unless one partakes in growing microgreens! 🌱 Whether you have a full grow light setup in your basement or an empty window sill, growing some nutritious microgreens right in your home is simple, financially viable, and adds some much needed vibrancy. Follow the link in our bio to learn more! ...

The Sowing Seeds Internship is an opportunity for hands-on learning to support food access and garden education at the Vermont Garden Network. The internship will offer a unique opportunity to experience and support a handful of programs through administrative support and field work during a time of year when we are gearing up for the growing season ahead. The ideal candidate will skillfully assist with office-related tasks in late winter, then seamlessly transition to physical garden work in early spring, and joyfully wrap up the internship during peak planting time in late spring. Independent work and community-based work are both part of this internship. January 22 to May 31 // 8 hrs per week Link in bio with the full internship description! ...

We are excited to share transitions and transformations happening at our mighty organization! After six years at the helm, our fearless leader, Michelle Gates, will be moving on to pursue new opportunities in the field of nonprofit education. This bittersweet moment is a time to reflect on and appreciate the tremendous amount of work Michelle has done for VGN, garden education and advocacy, and statewide food access, food justice and food security, nutrition, and wellness. No words can fully express the deep gratitude we all feel for the leadership, expertise, dedication, and thoughtfulness that Michelle brought to VGN. This fall marks a time for great transformation at VGN. As Michelle transitions to a new role, our team is moving towards a shared leadership model as we introduce two Co-Executive Directors – a Director of Programs & Partnerships and a Director of Philanthropy & Communications. We are thrilled to announce that Carolina Lukac, VGN’s Garden Education Manager of 8 years, is bringing her wealth of knowledge and experience into the role of Director of Programs & Partnerships! Carolina’s vision for this work, her ability to make thoughtful and intentional connections with both individuals and groups in this space, and her dedication to garden education and access will propel VGN towards more positive growth. Thank you for your critical support of the Vermont Garden Network. We are nothing without our network of gardeners, funders, partners and supporters, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate on the many exciting things our future has in store. The Board of Directors and Staff are leading a search for the position of Co-Executive Director, Director of Philanthropy & Communications. Please see the job posting in our bio and share with your networks to help us find the perfect fit for our organization. ...

Students of our 6 month long, Thriving gardens course, have officially completed 24 weeks of hands on learning and gardening! We finished the course with a sweet potato harvest 🍠 and garlic planting 🧄. The garlic that`s been planted this October will be harvested and enjoyed by next year`s class : ) For graduation we shared a potluck, thoughtful class reflections and many hugs. Everyone enjoyed their gifts of lemon balm glycerate, marshmallow root for tea and seeds for next year`s gardens 🌞 A lot happens in six months time from moving, marriage, engagements, new jobs, and babies being born ! This year we experienced it all, each of us growing alongside each other and the plants we were tending to with love & care🌱 ...

VGN is seeking a Co-Executive Director of Philanthropy & Communications The Co-Executive Director of Philanthropy & Communications is part of a shared leadership structure that governs the operations and program delivery of the Vermont Garden Network. This position reports to the Board or Directors and collaborates with the Co-Executive Director of Programs & Partnerships to educate, support and connect gardeners across the state of Vermont. View the job description and how to apply at the link in our bio! ...

Today`s garlic planting at Seedsong is a symbol of our hopes and dreams for the season ahead. Because this growing season was rough. We worked hard, we laughed, we cried, and still, we continued on as a gardening collective. We invite you to scroll through photos that will take you on the journey of our growing season, highlighting memorable moments and sharing a glimpse into one of VGN`s garden education programs where growing food has grown a tight knit community of gardeners. Captions for each photo are included below, and continue in the comments. April: One of our goals is to extend the season as long as possible with the minimal infrastructure we have in a small-scale market garden. Overwintering spinach, mache and claytonia allows us to offer garden members harvest in early Spring. April: We finally got our hands on a tilther to try out user-friendly machinery for low-till market gardening. Our friends at the @intervalecenter lent us their tilther to make the most beautiful, evenly amended, smooth, perfectly sized market garden beds. May: Every year we dedicate funds and extra effort to a garden improvement project. This year we installed a metal fence to prevent deer from devouring our crops. The timeless saying "many hands make light work" guides our collective organizing and we are immensely grateful for the many hands that helped us put up the fence. May: Among the 19 garden members of Seedsong, we likely have over 100 photos of beautiful harvest! Here is one of our early season delights: overwintered spinach and purple asparagus spears. Our work-trade agreement with members is that everyone works a 2hr weekly shift in the garden in exchange for whatever is harvestable at the moment. (continued in comments) ...

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The Art of the Garden

The gardens at Seven Springs combine the beauty of nature’s art with the magnificence of outdoor sculpture. Set between the Green Mountains and the Taconic Range, Seven Springs invites visitors to enjoy an art-garden adventure in a serene southwestern Vermont pastoral setting.

Wander. Explore. Relax.

Seven Springs welcomes summer and fall visitors. Relax in the serenity of nature and enjoy the beauty of art against the backdrop of the majestic Green Mountains.

Experience the beauty of nature’s creation, complemented by an eclectic collection of American and Canadian sculpture.

A Labor of Love Spanning Generations

Reflecting the talent and care of four generations of committed gardeners, Seven Springs Garden and Sculpture Park has evolved into an artist-gardener’s delight.

“A garden without its statue is like a sentence without its verb.” — Joseph W. Beach

• Book Your Visit
• The Gardens

Perennial Beds at Shelburne Museum - Photo by Shelburne Museum

Vermont gardens to visit.

Please e-mail listings, preferably in the format below, to: [email protected] .

Photos courtesy of The Garden Conservancy

The Hidden Garden of Lewis Creek Road

Saturday-Sunday, MAY 20-21, 10-4

Garden Conservancy Open Day. The Conservancy opens exceptional private gardens to the public in its annual Open Days program. The Conservancy seeks to preserve America’s outstanding gardens and open them permanently, usually as non-profit organizations. The Fells was one of its first preservation projects. Evergreen , now a non-profit public garden, was an Open Days garden from 2010 to 2017. There are a total of 19 Open Gardens in Northern New England this year.

Admission is by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org . $10 per person per garden.

Sunday, JUNE 4, 10-4

Garden Conservancy Open Day , Hinesburg, Vt.    

   * The Hidden Gardens of Lewis Creek Road.  An immense collection of shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and other plants on two levels, connected by a cascading stream with stone bridges.  The garden includes pools, two ponds, and extensive stone work.

Admission to the garden by pre-registration only at www.gardenconservancy.org .

Lincoln Hill Botanical Garden

   * Lincoln Hill Botanical Gardens.  More than 100 varieties of mature rhododendrons, azaleas, and mountain laurel—one of the largest collections in Vermont—grown by the landscape designer Paul Wieczoreck, plus many conifers and other specimen trees and shrubs, and extensive alpine rock gardens.  The rock-and-plant compositions around the residence are exceptional.

Photo by Eileen Oktavec

Sweeps of Catawba rhododendrons in bloom at the Birchwood

Friday-Sunday, JUNE 9-11, 10-5 

The Birchwood, 3217 Hazen’s Notch Road, Montgomery Center, Vt. The second major woodland garden created by landscape designer Robert Gillmore opens for the first time when nearly 700 of its more than 1,200 rhododendrons are in bloom. $7, to benefit the Friends of the Montgomery Library. 603-497-8020 www.evergreenfoundationnh.org

Gardens of Gordon and Mary Hayward

Sunday, JUNE 17, 10-4

Garden Conservancy Open Day

   * Garden of Gordon and Mary Hayward, Westminster West, Vt., open 10-3.  The lush 1½-acre landscape surrounds a restored late-18th-century farmhouse and includes informal collections of perennials, trees, and shrubs planted within formal parterres.  The gardens also offer charming naturalistic rooms and other vignettes, picturesque furniture and sculpture, and views of surrounding meadows.  The landscape is featured in one of the Haywards’ books, The Intimate Garden, and on their website, www.haywardgardens.com .

Photo by Vermont Horticultural Farm

Giant rhododendrons at the Vermont Horticultural Farm

Monday-Friday, APRIL-NOVEMBER, 8-4

University of Vermont Horticultural Farm, 65 Green Mountain Road, South Burlington, Vt. Large collections of mature ornamental plants, including more than 15 species of rhododendrons and native azaleas, which bloom in late May/early June; more than 100 lilacs, including 46 different varieties, which bloom in May; rare conifers and other shrubs; plus large perennial beds. A free map identifies the collections, which include some of the largest specimens in Vermont. Free. 802-658-9166 www.fhfvt.org

Photo by Cady’s Falls Botanical Garden

Rock garden at Cady’s Falls Botanical Garden

Daily, SPRING-FALL, 10-5

Cady’s Falls Botanical Garden , 6637 Duhamel Road, Morrisville, Vt.  For decades Cady’s Falls Nursery was distinguished by its extensive selection of home-grown trees, shrubs, and perennials, many of them rare, and by its lush, graceful naturalistic display gardens.  Don and Lela Avery no longer sell plants, but their gardens remain open by donation. 802-888-5559 www.cadysfallsgarden.com

Photos by Shelburne Museum

Spring blossoms and day lilies at Shelburne Museum

Tuesday-Sunday, May 13-October 22, 10-5

Shelburne Museum , 6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, Vt. 22 small gardens, mostly perennials, plus many lilacs and mature trees decorate one of New England’s largest collections of historic buildings and other artifacts. 2-day admission: $25 from May 1 to October 31 ($15 for Vermont residents), $10 from November 1 to April 30. 802-985-3346 www.shelburnemuseum.org/gardens-and-landscape ; the “museum from above” video is a graceful aerial tour of the museum’s 45-acre campus.

Wednesday-Sunday, MID-MAY — MID-OCTOBER, 11-4

Old Stone House Museum.  The lovely historic hamlet of Brownington, Vt., is a collection of attractive early 19th-century buildings and a 25-by-50-foot formal garden of perennials and herbs popular in the 1800s. $10. 802-754-2022 www.oldstonehousemuseum.org

Photo by Hildene

Elaborate formal gardens at Hildene

Thursday-Monday ​YEAR ROUND (except Easter, Thanksgiving, and December 24-26),  10-4:30

Hildene, Route 7A, Manchester, Vt.   A stunning Georgian Revival mansion built by Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham Lincoln to live to adulthood. In the broad terrace in front of the home, a tapestry of perennial beds is framed by an elaborate formal network of privet hedges. $23. 800-578-1788 www.hildene.org

Photo by Shelburne Farms

Symmetrical terrace gardens overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains at Shelburne Farms

Daily, YEAR ROUND, dawn to dusk

Shelburne Farms, 1611 Harbor Rd., Shelburne, Vt.  Gilded Age estate of the Webb family, now a large non-profit working farm and opulent inn and restaurant with restored formal gardens: symmetrical terraces, supported by elegant balustraded brick and stone walls, on a slope on the edge of Lake Champlain. The long, narrow terraces are planted with neat groups of (mainly) perennials. Like a villa on Lake Como, the view from the lawn above the terraces is an extraordinary use of “borrowed” lake-and-mountain scenery.  A long balustrade is the base of a stunning view: a vast expanse of the region’s largest lake, with the Adirondacks—the highest mountains in New York State—rising to the horizon on the far side. Free but donation requested. 802-985-8686 www.shelburnefarms.org

Photo courtesy of The Garden Conservancy

Northeast Kingdom

Gardens in central vermont.

Lake Morey Resort

82 Clubhouse Road Fairlee, VT, 05045 Phone: 802-333-4311 Toll-Free: 800-423-1211

Gardens in bloom are one of the many attractions at this scenic lake resort

Justin Smith Morrill Homestead Gardens

214 Justin Morrill Memorial Highway Strafford, VT, 05072 Phone: 802-765-4484

Path of Life Sculpture Garden

36 Park Road Windsor, VT, 05089 Phone: 802-674-9933

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• This nursery, established in 1980, features extraordinary gardens including Perennial Gardens, Peonies, Woodland Gardens, Ferns, Hosta, Ladyslippers, Pond Gardens, Bog Garden, Rock Garden, Wall Gardens, Vines, Conifer Collection and Miniature Gardens.
• This commercial nursery with display gardens and an art gallery specializes in woodland flowers, primroses, peonies, daylillies and hostas and offers plant talks and guided garden tours.
• This retail nursery and landscaping business offers a tropical conservatory and display gardens.
• The college is situated on the former Greatwood Farms Estate which included professionally landscaped gardens.
• Abraham Lincoln's oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, built this Georgian Revival manor house overlooking the Battenkill Valley. The formal gardens, designed by his daughter Jessie Lincoln Beckwith, replicate a stained glass Gothic cathedral window with privet hedges and peonies, roses, lilies and other flowers. Period cutting and kitchen gardens have also been restored at the site.
• This nursery features display gardens showcasing over 800 varieties of Zone-3-hardy perennials and fill-ins of selectively-bred annual poppies in rainbow colors, with picnic tables among the flowers and along the river's edge. From alpine miniatures to background giants, English cottage gardens to formal displays, a breathtaking succession of flowering includes riverside and hillside plantings, a shade display garden, a daylily field with 150 varieties, enormous diversity of plantings in a small space (total area is just under an acre).
• Located in the mountains at 1600 feet elevation, Zone 3 and 4 hardy perennials, heathers, shrubs, and roses are displayed in over 20 gardens at our retail nursery.  Stroll through islands of color set against one of Vermont’s most dramatic backdrops.
• This homestead of a former US Senator, now a National Historic Site, includes recently restored gardens with special woody plants, a pleasure garden, and kitchen/flower gardens. Although his avocation of landscape gardening was cut short by his entry into politics in 1854, Morrill's designs and plantings for the walkways and the gardens surrounding the house are in the best tradition of the romantic landscape movement in America and the original plantings, selected to test suitability to the harsh Vermont climate, survive, including species from Europe and the Orient.
• This French Empire style mansion, home to two of Vermont's Governors, offers beautifully landscaped gardens and grounds.
• This retail nursery, situated in a vale amidst rock ledges, offers display gardens with common and unusual trees and plants.
• This 1886 model agricultural estate, now an environmental education center, was created by William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb with architect Robert H. Robertson and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The naturalistically landscaped grounds, optimizing vistas of Lake Champlain, include a garden at the magnificent house and a market garden. Be sure to visit the amazing barn!
• Founded in 1947 by Electra Havemeyer Webb, a collector of every kind of Americana from circus figurines to buildings to a paddlewheel steamer, this wonderful 45 acre museum features over 35 historic buildings placed in a park-like setting designed by Umberto Innocenti. Gardens include the Apothecary Herb Garden (medicinal herbs), the Hat and Fragrance Textile Gallery Garden (culinary herbs and plants for dyes), the Electra Bostwick Memorial Garden (annuals, perennials and roses arranged like an artist's palette), the Pleissner Gallery Garden, and collections of lilacs (400 bushes of 90 varieties) and crabapples (200 trees).
• This unique architectural creation (run as a bed and breakfast) uniting the man-made and natural environments showcases 5 acres of perennial flowers, fruit trees, flowering shrubs and lawns. This zone 4 garden is designed with mass plantings for color and dramatic accents, with many of the plants are selected for butterfly and hummingbird pollination.
• The 97 acre "Hort. Farm" displays 700 kinds of ornamental trees and shrubs, many of them uncommon or unique. Special collections include apples, crabapples (210 specimens of 135 varieties), lilacs (90 varieties), junipers (60 varieties), and a labelled perennial display border.
• Home to the National Gardening Association , this 20 acre new botanical garden features a butterfly garden, a community garden, a children's garden, ademonstration garden, an ethnic heritage garden, a wildlife garden, a vegetable and herb garden, an All-America Selections garden, a secret garden and a maze. Additional features are an orchard, rose garden, multiple greenhouses, amphitheater, lawns, and a library.  
• This wildflower seed company's headquarters offers paths with signs through two flower fields and a woodland with a brook and pond.

New England's Gardens

Public gardens of all types are found from one end of New England to another. They range from formal and traditional, like the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden in Hartford, CT , to the wide and whimsical, like the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine . Rhododendrons bloom wild at a park in southern New Hampshire and butterflies have their own garden habitats in parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts . And in the warm months, you can take garden tours at museums, farms and historic sites throughout Vermont .

Quick Links :

Lake Morey Resort

82 Clubhouse Road Fairlee, VT, 05045 Phone: 802-333-4311 Toll-Free: 800-423-1211

Gardens in bloom are one of the many attractions at this scenic lake resort

Pleasant View Gardens

7316 Pleasant Street Loudon, NH, 03307 Phone: 603-435-8361

Experience a world of vibrant color and beautiful blooms!

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

105 Botanical Gardens Drive Boothbay, ME, 04537 Phone: 207-633-8000

Florence Griswold Museum Gardens

96 Lyme Street Old Lyme, CT, 06371 Phone: 860-434-5542

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum

101 Ferry Road - RI Route 114 Bristol, RI, 02809 Phone: 401-253-2707

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

77 Forest Street Hartford, CT, 06105 Phone: 860-522-9258

Boston Public Garden

Boylston, Arlington, Beacon and Charles Streets Boston, MA, 02116 Phone: 617-723-8144

367 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI, 02840 Phone: 401-847-1000

New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill

11 French Drive Boylston, MA, 01505 Phone: 508-869-6111

Heritage Museums & Gardens

67 Grove Street Sandwich, MA, 02563 Phone: 508-888-3300

Rhododendron State Park

Rhododendron Road at Rockwood Pond Road Fitzwilliam, NH, 03447 Phone: 603-532-8862

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Full Circle Gardens ( www.fullcirclegardens.com ), run by Sarah Salatino, is one of the largest dedicated perennial growing and retailing firms in the region. Here you can find hundreds of different perennials for rain gardens and pollinator gardens, native perennials, alpine plants, garden heirloom plants, groundcovers, woodland perennials and hardy hybrids. Plants are grown in local organic media with sustainable practices, and are of large landscape size ready for an instant display. Sarah will give us an overview of her operation, display gardens, and some tips for choosing perennials.

Perennial Pleasures Nursery ( www.perennialpleasures.net ), run by Rachel Kane, is a retail and mail-order nursery located in the beautiful North East Kingdom area of Vermont. The nursery, greenhouse and display gardens are sited on the sunny fields behind the family home– an 1840’s brick house at the edge of the village. They grow over 900 varieties of flowers, herbs and shrubs, specializing in heirloom and medicinal plants, and have one of the largest collections of garden phlox in the country. An eclectic gift shop, specializing in summer hats, is located in the old wooden extension. We’ll have time for lunch (included) in the display garden or conservatory, and guided tour of the gardens and some of the more special and unusual perennials.

The von Trapp Greenhouse and Gardens , ( www.vontrappgreenhouse.com ) was founded in 1980 by Tobi and Sally von Trapp. Located on the Waitsfield Common in Waitsfield, Vermont, the extensive perennial display gardens feature unequaled views of the Green Mountains. Unlike garden centers, which purchase the majority of their plant material as finished product from outside sources, the von Trapp Greenhouse grows all of its own plants from seeds, cuttings or divisions– over 550 cultivars of annuals including tender and tropical exotics, over 600 cultivars of perennials, and about 100 cultivars of herbs and vegetable plants.

Here’s your chance to visit several top quality Vermont perennial display gardens and growers, and to see hundreds of perennials (with a chance to shop). Any family or friends interested in joining you? Send in your registration NOW in order to guarantee seats on this relaxing, comfortable and educational tour. Register early for a discount. Questions or special needs? 802-318-8453 or [email protected]

The cost of the tour is $79 per person prior to June 15, 2016; $89 per person after June 15, 2016 (except $79 for Green Works members and VT Master Gardeners).  Tour cost includes luxury motor coach, refreshments throughout the trip, lunch, and driver gratuity. Confirmation and further details will be provided prior to the trip. Return registrations no later than July 29, 2016 to: Kristina MacKulin/VNLA, PO Box 92, N. Ferrisburgh, VT 05473 (802-425-5117). You can download and mail your registration in by mail or register below.  Register for two or more garden tours this summer hosted by Dr. Perry, and you’ll get a $10 discount coupon good for tours in 2017.

DOWNLOAD: VT Perennial Garden Tour Registration Form

Confirmation receipt, itinerary, and directions to departure sites will be mailed prior to the tour. For questions on registration and payment, contact Kristina (802-425-5117). For other questions, contact tour host Dr. Leonard Perry (UVM Horticulture Professor, [email protected], 802-318-8453).

Questions – please contact: [email protected].

Annual garden tour of six beautiful Hinesburg gardens

• Chris Sears, the owner of Fox Run Flowers on Falls Road.  She raises gorgeous cut flowers.  Her gardens are well established and constantly changing.
• Lisa and Chris Thompson—one of our Lake Iroquois gardens.  They purchased Betty and Doug Lantman’s home and have built stone walls, planted many trees, fruits and perennials beds.
• Meg Handler and David Kaminsky live beyond the Thompsons on Lake Iroquois.  Do you remember playing in the pine plantation that covered the West side of the lake over 50 years ago?  Meg and David have replaced those pines with native trees and shrubs to support wildlife and control runoff.
• Paul Wieczoreck and Mary Crane’s garden is up on Lincoln Hill.  Paul, a Vermont trained professional horticulturist, is turning the nursery property into an arboretum.  They have an amazing collection of rhododendrons and azaleas as well as perennials.
• DeeDee and Peter Erb’s garden is on Fox Meadows near Lewis Creek.  Enjoy their established perennial beds, vegetable garden, berry patches and fruit trees. DeeDee will give a peony preservation demonstration (if they are in bud!).
• Laura Carlsmith and Rob Bast live off Silver Street.  Their property features a bridge over a small gorge and a view from the porch overlooking a pond.  Rob is an architect, and his sugarhouse is a unique version of this Vermont tradition.

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Preserving, sharing, and celebrating america’s gardens The Garden Conservancy

Welcome to Open Days

The 2024 Open Days Schedule is now online!

Visit america's best private gardens.

Fueling America’s passion for gardens, the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program annually celebrates the country’s most exciting, creative, and innovative private gardens. Open Days is made up of a nationwide community of gardeners and garden enthusiasts teaching and inspiring each other and the public. From expert to novice, there is no better way to improve as a gardener than by experiencing a diverse range of gardens, and gardening traditions, firsthand. 

Since 1995, Open Days has welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors into thousands of inspired private landscapes—from urban rooftops to organic farms, historic estates, to innovative suburban lots—in 41 states. 

Open Days have become The Garden Conservancy’s best-known and most beloved program, and it is made possible by the hard work and generous support of hundreds of volunteers, garden hosts, and visitors. The Garden Conservancy is delighted to showcase America’s diverse regional horticultural and stylistic expressions for all to enjoy, and we hope to see you at an Open Day soon!

Tickets will be released online approximately two months in advance of an Open Day, around the first of the month. For 2024, our anticipated release dates are:

Registration All registrations must be processed online through The Garden Conservancy's website. Garden Hosts do not have the ability to collect payments or verify memberships onsite.

Tickets Once registered, you will receive an electronic ticket that includes all the information you need to visit your selected gardens, including the garden's address, location, parking instructions, and other information to help plan your vist.

You can still be spontaneous! Registration for gardens will remain live until the end of the Open Day or until all tickets have sold out.  

Guidelines for Visiting and FAQs

Getting the Most Out of E-Ticketing

Know Before You Go: Plan Your Garden Visits

Guidelines for Visiting

Learn more about The Garden Conservancy’s other Educational Programs

Become involved with the Open Days program

Open Days 2024

Registration is now open for all Open Days through the end of May!

Pictured (left to right): Open Days Public Program and Education Associate Philllip Carruthers, Open Days Program Manager Amy Murray, Director of Public Programs & Education Horatio Joyce

We can't do it without volunteers! Be a part of Open Days

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Click here to read about our 66-page book  celebrating a quarter century of America's gardeners and their gardens

Garden Tours, Tastings & Events

Discover the fun, engaging, and magical side of gardens with tours and events led by our team of gardeners!  Open May - October

Meet the Master Gardener

Garden Tours

Self-guided Tours We encourage guests to come by and peruse the produce, flowers, and garden pathways at their own leisure. Ask the gardeners questions and join us in our restaurants to taste what we grow!

Garden Displays Throughout the season our garden displays show off the most artful side of gardening! Enjoy walking through the unique Sunflower House and strolling beneath the Gourdwalk. Learn more about these Garden Displays here. 

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Gardens of Stowe

July 14, 2024 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. – A Rain or Shine Event

Private Gardens throughout Stowe, Vermont

Stowe Garden Club hosts this self-guided garden tour of some of Stowe’s most interesting gardens and landscapes. Take in all the natural beauty at select private locations showcased on the tour.  Come be  inspired by  annual and perennial plantings, patios and outdoor rooms with spectacular views, and of course, amazing landscapes.  Day of show premium priced tickets will be available at Stowe Area Association from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.  Proceeds from this year’s Garden Tour will be donated to Stowe Community Fund and Meals on Wheels of Lamoille County .    

NOTE: garden maps will be distributed to online ticket purchasers via email the evening prior to the tour.

Learn more and purchase advance tickets.

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