Oh, for the love of flowers and human imagination! The Mattapoisett Woman’s Club bi-annual garden tour titled “June in Bloom” was a master class in just what can be done when Mother Nature and her human counterparts collaborate.
Assuredly, the June 28 event presented gardens that have been heavily curated and lovingly nurtured over time. The gardens in this tour put on their best performances.
Take for instance the transformation from woodlands bramble and thorns to gentle pathways hiding a chicken coop and foraged stones. The animals themselves were individual works of art created by nature and expertly cared for by the gardener.
There were artistic works of art woven into the backdrops of flowering bushes (dog woods are especially prolific this year, as are hydrangeas) trimmed many of the frameable moments.
A number of the properties featured this year enjoy breathtaking water views. My partner and I thought red carpets were in order, for surely these gardens were fit for royalty.
Longtime member of the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Sandy Hering was smitten by all the gardens featured this year. She also noted how gracious the property owners are in inviting the public to peak behind privacy fences and thick mature evergreens. Hering noted the incredible variety and imagination each garden held for the viewer, and let’s not forget birdsong that filled the gray, not gloomy skies.
Naming plants and trees is not our strong suit, but the gardeners did that work for us by listing many plants in the map/program. There we find such notable items as red cedar, hemlock, magnolia, leucothoe edge, rhododendrons, pawpaw, rodgersia, and winter berry.
A well-structured garden incorporates a variety of elements both natural to the environment in which they thrive, and human-made architectural features. A well-placed Buda (head only or lounging serenely) lends a gentle sense of wellbeing and calm. We found several that fit that bill.
And the tour was nothing if not inspirational. A short stroll through any of the seven featured gardens gave enough food for thought during long cold winters when the New England gardener dreams of spring and all the beauty that awaits a patient gardener’s soul.
On a final grace note, this event was a scholarship fundraiser. Each year now for over eight years, the club has bestowed educational scholarships to graduates of Old Rochester Regional High School.
Mattapoisett Woman’s Club
By Marilou Newell