The Monadnock region has proven to be fertile ground for gardeners, as evidenced by the upcoming weekend’s Open Days program.
The event, run under the auspices of national nonprofit The Garden Conservancy, features a tour of area gardens and a variety of speakers.
“The main thing about the Open Days program is the exchange between the visitor and the gardener,” said Stephanie Werskey of The Garden Conservancy.
At each of the gardens on the tour, an expert will be on hand to answer questions. Stop by the garden at Juniper Hill Farm in Francestown, for instance, and Roger Swain will provide his colorful commentary and some encouragement for the potential gardener.
The Juniper Hill garden features an array of different boxwoods, the result of garden designer Joe Valentine’s experiments to see which breed of the shrub would hold up best through the brutal New England winters.
“Lo and behold, most of them made it,” Valentine said.
Valentine’s garden is known for its “garden rooms,” as the acres surrounding the 18th-century farmhouse are made up of segmented areas, all with different aesthetics as the viewer works their way through the property.
“We had a very flat landscape to deal with, so we wanted to create something that would add a little variety and excitement as you went through the garden,” Valentine said. “The garden grew off the house and evolved from the house outward.”
That sense of flow will be a common theme at many of the featured gardens, like the one at the home of Maude and John Odgers in Peterborough. Maude, a former weaver, said that her artistic background went a long way into her garden design.
“I think that goes into the garden itself,” Maude said, “my visions of texture and color and design … There’s a cadence to it, one bed leads you to the next.”
Each stop on the tour will also feature a pop-up shop or demonstration from local garden suppliers, meaning that those on the tour can not only see some inspirational garden successes, but bring home something to get their own garden going.
The whole event kicks off on Friday night at Bass Hall in Peterborough, where author Page Dickey will give a talk called “Digging Deeper — Outstanding American Gardens.” Dickey, who helped create the Open Days event back in 1995, has recently finished work on her book “Outstanding American Gardens.”
“I’m sure people will enjoy seeing her travels across the country,” Werskey said. “She knows a lot of gardens and a lot of gardeners really well.”
Admission to that talk is $10 per person; tickets available at the door, online at www.opendaysprogram.org, or by calling toll-free, 888-842- 2442.
On Saturday, the garden tours commence. Besides those already mentioned, featured gardeners include: Jenny Lee Hughes and Edward Yoxen of Stoddard, Eleanor Briggs of Hancock, Laura and Jamie Trowbridge of Peterborough and Michael and Betsy Gordon of Peterborough.
For more information, visit www.opendaysprogram.org.