Visit Beautiful Local Gardens on June 19 and 20
The Garden Consservancy Open Days Program
June 17 2010, page 17.....

Champlain Valley area garden-lovers can visit five private gardens as part of Open Days, a program of the Garden Conservancy. The public gardens at Shelburne Farms are also included on the tour.
In Charlotte, the self-guided garden tour takes you to Converse Bay Farm, home of Birgit and Andy Deeds, and the Gardens at Golden Apple Orchard, home of Robin and Robert Coleburn. In Hinesburg the tour includes Paul Wieczoreck’s Garden and Marcia Pierce’s The Hidden Gardens of Lewis Creek Road. Muddy Creek Gardens in Ferrisburgh will also be open.
All of the gardens will be open for visiting on Saturday, June 19, and Sunday, June 20, from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The admission to each of the private gardens is $5.00, with children under 12 free. The Shelburne Farms gardens can be visited at a discounted admission of $6 per person on both days. The Open Days are rain or shine, and no reservation is necessary. Please leave your dog at home but do remember to bring a hat, bug repellant, camera, umbrella and sunscreen, and wear comfortable shoes!
The Muddy Creek Gardens (256 Fuller Mountain Road, Ferrisburgh) are characterized by stone walls, steps and patios built from indigenous red rock, informal perennial beds, an antique-fenced Victorian garden and grass paths that wind through wildflower meadows to a hilltop gazebo. At Converse Bay Farm (1028 Converse Bay Road, Charlotte) three different levels have views of Lake Champlain and include a pergola garden, multiple rose gardens, a dahlia border, a large lily pond and a potager. The extensive Gardens at Golden Apple Orchard (1052 Whalley Road, Charlotte) are divided into rooms by various hedges, allowing for the coexistence of multiple planting themes, as well as an orchard and views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks beyond. The Hidden Garden of Lewis Creek Road (693 Lewis Creek Road, Hinesburg) feature a shady cascading watercourse with paths and stone bridges that ties together the upper and lower gardens, and a sunken garden highlighted by a reflecting pool and handsome stonework. Paul Wieczoreck’s Garden (2800 Lincoln Hill Road, Hinesburg) includes collections of woodland plants and shrubs, slow-growing conifers, native and hybrid azaleas and a newly created alpine/scree garden with a small waterfall and stream.
Signs will be placed to guide visitors to each garden. A suggestion is to begin the tour at the Golden Apple Orchard where flyers with directions to the other gardens will be available.
Please call Robin Coleburn at 425-4469, or visit opendaysprogram.org for more information about the Open Days Program.
The Garden Conservancy started the Open Days Program in 1995 as a means of introducing the public to gardens and to provide easy access to outstanding examples of design and horticultural practice.