Cape Cod Garden Walks and Talks
Summer is winding down: Old Sol’s slanting rays give the days a golden quality and at night the crickets come out to sing us to sleep. We savor the season’s last picnics, beach strolls, and many of us prepare to send our children back to school.
Even though autumn is almost upon us, that doesn’t mean we can’t spend time enjoying the beauty and tranquility of our local landscape. The Cape is home to many wonderful public gardens where we can visit at no charge or for a fee. We can also take advantage of gardening presentations to help us learn to better nurture our own private oasis at home.
The Walks!
67 Grove St, Sandwich
Open daily through October 9th, 10AM – 5PM.
Members: free / Adults: $18.00 / Children (3-11 years old) $8.00
The Heritage Museum and Gardens boasts 100 acres of magnificent landscape making it the largest public garden in southern New England. Their grounds showcase a wide array of gorgeous plantings, trees, and bushes and there is also a wonderful selection of sculptures and water features. You can view the many types of blooming flowers here or see what is currently flowering here . The site includes miles of walking paths and if you work up an appetite, you can always stop in at the Magnolia Café for a bite to eat.
Naturally, the Heritage Museum and Gardens has much more than their lovely landscaping on display. Make it a day trip and explore!
56 Highfield Drive, Falmouth
September 7th & 21st and October 5th & 19th, at 10AM
(Weather permitting)
Adults: $5 / Members, children under 12, and active military personnel: free
Highfield Hall historian and archivist Lisa Willow Dunne will lead you on a walk and talk through the 400 acre estate and its carriage trails. Art enthusiasts will enjoy the unique sculptures, which add character and color to the landscape. Learn more about the individual gardens here.
6 Discovery Hill Road, East Sandwich
August 29th, 10AM – 11AM
Members: $3.00 Non-members: $5.00
The Green Briar Nature Center offers an informal guided tour of their award-winning Shirley G. Gross Wildflower Garden. This is an opportunity gaze upon lovely blooms and also to learn more about wild flowers, especially the rare and endangered varieties which may not otherwise be seen except in this gem of a garden. Be sure to check out the Green Briar’s historic Jam Kitchen’s beautiful garden beds as well! (And maybe step into the Jam kitchen for a tasting, too!)
South Sandwich Road, Mashpee and Sandwich
Open daily, sunrise to sunset.
Admission is free. Lowell Holly isn’t so much a garden as a pleasant hike through four miles of trails that takes you through verdant groves of American Holly and rhododendrons as you make your way out to Mashpee and Wakeby ponds. Bring a picnic lunch or enjoy a snack at one of the picnic tables on Conaumet Neck, where you can take in panoramic views of both ponds. Lowell Holly is pet friendly, so long as the pets are leashed.
The Talks!
Cape Cod Fairgrounds, 1220 Nathan Ellis Highway, Route 151, East Falmouth
September 11th, 4:30PM to 6:00PM
Admission is free.
Come to the Cape Cod Fairgrounds demonstration garden and learn how master gardeners maintain this superb plot. Discussions will revolve around what produce is currently in season and which steps are taken at this time of year to promote the overall health of the garden.
Barnstable Senior Center 825 Falmouth Rd. Hyannis
September 11th, 11AM -12PM
Admission is free.
Master Gardener Irene Cooper demonstrates methods to save seeds from this year’s garden which may be sown in the soil next spring.
Heritage Museums & Gardens, 67 Grove St, Sandwich
November 4th, 1:30 – 2:30PM
Members: $10 Members / Non-members: $25 (price includes Museum admission)
The Heritage Museum and Gardens Hydrangea curator Mal Condon will give a presentation on techniques that will help your hydrangeas survive the winter season.
Harwich Community Center, 100 Oak Street, Harwich
September 30th, 8:30AM - 12:30PM
Pre-registration required by September 25th. Attendance fee: $20.00
This series of presentations and workshops includes light refreshments and door prizes! Bring a soil sample if you would like to have it tested. Russell Norton (Horticulture Extension Educator) will give a talk Fall Garden Tips and Anne Firth (Master Gardener) will speak on Autumn in the Garden. There will be four workshops, from which you may select two to attend. These include:
Drip Irrigation for the Home Gardener – Simple, Affordable, and Efficient with Mike Almonte (Master Gardener)
Fall Lawn Care with Nan Ingraham (Master Gardener)
Fall Floral Arrangement and Wreathmaking for the Frugal Minded with Irene Mitchell (Floral Designer) and Sharon Oudemool (Master Gardener)
Planning the Perfect Pollinator Garden with Emily Richardson (The Farm, Orleans)
For more details and registration information please click here.
