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SATURDAY, JUNE 24 & SUNDAY JUNE 25, 2023 10:00 - 4:00 p.m. bOTH DAYS
This year, the tour will feature a mix of eighteen private and public gardens, each unique and evolving over the years to reflect the changing interests of its gardener(s). The gardens are all lovingly tended by certified URI Master Gardener volunteers; whether private or public, each garden will open to tour visitors to showcase various best practices in environmentally-sound gardening. Tour participants will be sure to see impressive vegetable and herb gardens, pollinator gardens, rain gardens, unique hardscaping, native plants in all their glory and more. Scroll down to see a listing of public and private gardens open during the tour weekend.
We hope you’ll join us for the best weekend of the summer (we think)!
Gardens on display during the official tour weekend
Public Gardens
Mount Hope Farm
Bristol
Mount Hope Farm grows and donates thousands of pounds of produce to the East Bay Food Pantry every year. The 900-square-foot Growing 4 Good Garden was built in 2015 through a partnership with the URI Master Gardener Program. The goals of the garden are two-fold: To develop a demonstration site for productive raised bed planting methods, and to create meaningful work and volunteer opportunities for developmentally challenged adults. Join us at the beautiful Mount Hope Farm to see accessible gardening in action!
The Good Gardens at the Norman Bird Sanctuary
Middletown
The Good Gardens at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, RI is a highly productive vegetable, herb and cut flower garden tended by URI Master Gardener and NBS volunteers. All that is grown in the garden is donated weekly to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Food Pantry in Newport, RI. With three hugelkultur beds, a hoop house and a food forest under development, these teaching gardens utilize land stewardship best practices for invasive plant removal and re-purposing. Some unique plants that can be found growing in The Good Gardens include cotton, loofah, and birdhouse gourds.
Roger Williams Park Produce Donation Garden
Providence
Since 2011, this “hybrid” garden in Roger Williams Park has served as a node in the community connecting volunteers, gardeners and the public to each other and our local food system. This unique garden combines over sixty community garden plots for Providence residents and 35 demonstration garden plots that Master Gardeners volunteers tend. Visit this garden to see 3,000 square feet of vegetable gardens, 1,000 square feet of pollinator gardens, hugelkultur bed, active compost area and two bee hives!
Kettle Pond Native Plant Gardens
Charlestown
These native plant gardens, established in 2017, are populated with over seventy RI native plants, including grasses, ferns and shrubs. The garden is lovingly tended by URI Master Gardener and US Fish and Wildlife Service volunteers and showcases the importance of biodiversity, attracting a wide variety of pollinators seeking sweet nectar or pollen. The swathes of color and the buzzing of the insects are a joy to behold. The gardens are situated from areas of full sun to shade with the right plants in the right place. These well-designed gardens demonstrate layering as well as bloom times through the seasons. Look out for Monarch butterfly eggs or larva on the milkweed plants as you stroll through the space.
Charlestown Schoolhouse Garden
Charlestown
The Charlestown Schoolhouse Garden is a sustainable pollinator garden watered only by rainfall. There is a three season mix of trees, herbs, bulbs and a large variety of perennials, including Swamp Milkweed, planted in support of Monarch butterflies. Nestled behind an old stone wall and in front of a historical one room Schoolhouse, the garden shares grounds with the Charlestown Historical Society Museum and the Cross Mills Library.
URI Campus Gardens (Botanical, Conservatory & Medicinal)
South Kingstown
The University of Rhode Island is proud to host nearly six acres of botanical collections between the 4.5 acre Botanical Garden, the Heber W. Youngken, Jr. Medicinal Garden, and the Horridge Conservatory, all in the heart of URI’s Kingston campus. Within the Botanical Garden, the Chet Clayton Sustainable Rose garden will be in bloom, as will many other annuals and perennial flowers throughout the space. A new garden along the East Alumni Road sidewalk was recently planted entirely with New England native plants grown by URI Master Gardener volunteers at East Farm. Nearby, within walking distance, visitors can also stroll through the Heber W. Youngken, Jr. Medicinal Garden, maintained by the College of Pharmacy, and the Horridge Conservatory at the URI greenhouses, a favoite spot for students all winter.
Borders Farm
Foster
Borders Farm is a working historic farm located in Foster, RI. Although the farm itself produces grass-fed beef and pork, within the Borders property is the Food Bank Garden, where an array of vegetables are grown alongside native pollinator plants, annual flowers and herbs. All of the produce grown at the Food Bank Garden is donated to local Rhode Islanders in need. The gardeners utilize no-till gardening methods, with a focus on companion planting, waste reduction through composting, and maintenance of soil quality to increase harvest yields and nutrition value of the crops. A portable restroom is available for visitors to the farm — we look forward to seeing you!
Private Gardens
Vegetables and Natives in a Small Space
East Greenwich
At just over one quarter of an acre in the historic Hill and Harbour neighborhood of East Greenwich, this property incorporates raised bed vegetable gardens, pollinator-friendly perennials, and a focus on native plants. We hope that you will come visit our small in-town garden oasis!
Metamorphosis: A Garden in Transition
Warwick
This gardener has become a “Monarch Mama”, raising over 800 butterflies by creating habitat with native plants. She continues to transition this garden into one that supports biodiversity by providing a habitat for native species of insects and other wildlife. In doing so, she has joined those across the U.S. who collectively are building a “Homegrown National Park”. This garden is a certified National Wildlife Federation “Backyard Habitat” as well as a registered Monarch waystation.
City Garden Renewed
Providence
The landscaping in this yard has been transformed over the last 17 years. Traditional foundation plantings from the 1950’s were either pruned hard or removed, and garden beds were expanded. The yard and plantings are designed and maintained to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. Shredded leaves, homemade compost and grass clippings are used for fertilizer, dandelions are allowed to grow in the lawn, and habitats for insects abound everywhere. No chemical fertilizer or pesticides are used. Come see how things have turned out in this urban garden space bustling with life!
Secret Garden in Newport's Point Section
Newport
This space has been a work in progress since 1982 – a 41 year relationship between the gardener and the garden. Featured on the Gardening with the Masters Tour in 2005, 2007, 2015, 2019 and 2021, the garden has evolved significantly in many ways. Now, after reckoning with just how many plants you accrue over 40+ years, the garden includes only the plants the gardener loves. The ones that bring her joy. What remains is really a joyful, mature space. All work was and is done by the homeowner. Come and see what can be done in a small space.
An Urban Oasis
Newport
While staying nearby, the owners here often admired the massive hydrangeas lining the front porch, and ended up buying the house in the fall of 2012. It wasn’t until the following spring that they realized just how special the garden was. Over the course of the first year, they observed spring daffodils emerging, forsythia exploding into bloom, followed by lilacs, peonies, irises, lily of the valley, climbing roses, and clethra. Dozens of hostas appeared from nowhere, and ferns emerged frequently. The trees, hedges, and shrubs bloomed continuously in sequence. Bees, birds, and butterflies were everywhere. Each year, the owners try new plants and take pleasure in creating this urban oasis that they lovingly care for and enjoy!
Japanese Garden by the Sea
Little Compton
Stone walls surround this property in the quiet seaside town of Little Compton, which the gardener has tended for over twenty-three years. Dotted with beautiful maple trees, hydrangeas, and rhododendrons, the landscape was very typical of many in the community, until the gardener started reading about Japanese gardening a couple years ago. Sitting quietly, you can observe the gentle waterfall and frogs sunning on rocks. Building this garden has been a journey of discovery, challenges, and happiness for the gardener. We hope you’ll take a ride and visit!
Frost Hollow Farm: A Diverse Backyard Landscape
Glocester
Summer arrives at Frost Hollow Farm and finds native plants, annuals, and some perennial cultivars in bloom beckoning to insects seeking sweet sips. This Certified Wildlife Habitat developed over the last 11 years offers an opportunity to see a variety of mature trees, a small orchard, berries, a meadow, as well as patios surrounded with flowering vines and perennials. Vegetables of all shapes and sizes are in progress in the three gardens protected from deer by nine foot fences. Come and enjoy the rich vistas this property offers as you wander around and through spaces bursting with early summer color.
Summersweet Farm: An 18th Century Revitilization
Foster
Over the past nine years, the homeowners have worked to revitalize this eighteenth century farm to provide a range of foods for humans and wildlife. The very large no-till, organic vegetable garden produces food for immediate use and storage. An array of garden beds, many featuring native grasses, perennials, and annuals, are designed to blend with the rural setting, while providing high quality pollinator forage and habitat for a range of other insects throughout the growing season. We welcome you to explore our buzzing patch of Mother Earth in the woods of Foster.
Green Hill Pond Coastal Garden
Charlestown
This charming coastal cottage with a small yard is loaded with charm, flowers, and many unusual items. Since moving here in the fall of 2019, the grounds have been transformed with the addition of many unique annuals, perennials, and water features. Several fig trees hug the property along with vegetables including tomatoes, lettuce, and squash. Come enjoy the wonderful coastal breeze as you join the swarms of hummingbirds and bees who make this charming waterfront oasis their home.
Alice's Wakefield Wonderland
South Kingstown
The major focus of this property is the vegetable garden, but the landscape also reflects ‘the owners’ deep belief in the importance of combining function and beauty, serenity, and compatibility with nature. For the benefit of humans, the 625 square foot vegetable garden is surrounded by a deer fence lined with hardware cloth to prevent unwanted animal intrusion. For the benefit of all other creatures, the lawn is left natural with a large circular area as a meadow. The rabbits and woodchucks take full advantage of the nature plantings, clover and dandelions that intersperse the grass. Birds hunt for worms and insects, and native turkeys have been seen stripping seeds from the grasses in the meadow.
The Constantly Evolving Garden
Richmond
The world around us is constantly changing, and so is this garden. What was once mostly shaded is now mostly sunny thanks to periods of drought and infestations of spongy moth, winter moths and bark beetles. The majestic oaks that once stood here have been replaced by vegetable gardens, blueberry and raspberry bushes and pumpkin patches. A large variety of perennials, ornamentals and wildflowers are mixed with flowering shrubs and trees on this property; many are heirloom specimens passed down from family and friends. The gardens are a great example of a do-it-yourself over time installation and ongoing maintenance by the homeowners themselves. Stop by to see what you can do with a little sweat equity!
