Beauty Abounds in Concord’s Gardens

The 34th Annual Concord Museum Garden Tour

June 2-3, 2023

BY THE CONCORD MUSEUM’S GUILD OF VOLUNTEERS

The annual Concord Museum Garden Tour, organized by the Museum’s Guild of Volunteers, has been a tradition for more than 30 years. Garden Tour participants can visit several of Concord’s most beautiful private gardens on a self-guided tour over two days. This year’s tour will feature six glorious gardens, each special in both its natural setting and in its layout, design, and plant materials.

At the first garden, the owner is the gardener, and her love of the land is evident. An area to the left of the driveway has the grace of a Grecian forum and stands alone in its serenity. This is a mere interlude in what is to follow as you approach the back of the house and see the hill roll down to the river. A former lawn has been improved with a multitude of gardens; two vegetable gardens, a wildflower garden, a pollinator garden, and a white garden, all framing a beautiful view. Another garden was prompted by a wedding in the family and the desire to create a venue that they could enjoy for a lifetime. A lush and creative berm hides the neighborhood beyond while the stone walls create a sculptural hardscape that balances the carefully selected plantings. A garden that is beautiful year-round from every angle, it also nicely incorporates areas for family recreation, including an architectural hot tub/pool.

Photo courtesy of the Concord Museum

At the third location, the gardens frame a graceful entrance to this French-inspired home designed by famous Concord architect Harry B. Little. Sophisticated choices in decorative trees and evergreens lead you to the terraced backyard, which features multiple garden rooms, historic stone walls, and an unforgettable view of the long sweep down to the Concord River.

Photo courtesy of the garden owner

The fourth garden has been blessed to have a noted landscape designer reside there with her many talents, which includes knowing the perfect plant for each of the many gardens that surround the house and the beautiful flat plain. Many areas are shadowed by large billowing stately trees that stand guard like statues over the studied choices. A virtual sampler of all of her tricks of the trade, each garden is not only a botanical composition to behold, but also a lesson of sorts to every gardener lucky enough to witness.

Photo courtesy of the Concord Museum

Beside and behind one of Concord’s historic homes lies gardens galore. A deep backyard allows for multiple groupings of rare plants and creates a room surrounded by mature trees. The garden and the house have a special symbiosis and work together to form a perfect fresh and current landscape while still being historically appropriate. Rather than being cordoned off and entirely separated from the neighboring home, the gardens here are open and even integrated with the gardens next door.

Our last garden is next door to the home mentioned above and surrounds a historic home that was formerly an art studio and barn. The owner has recently revived the gardens and added several new ones, working with her neighbor to combine their interests in a garden that straddles the two properties, blending the border line and sharing the beauty for both to see. The gardener has been careful to protect the history of the property but has brought in a new and welcomed freshness.

Tickets to the tour are available starting in March at concordmuseum.org/ events/34th-annual-garden-tour. Ticket booklets, with the garden addresses, can be picked up at the Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, on June 2nd and 3rd, starting at 9 am. Tickets may also be purchased at the Museum on the days of the tour. For more information, visit concordmuseum.org.

See you in the garden!