Sturgis Library’s 2020 garden tours, offered as part of the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, include a wonderful variety of plantings and landscapes.  This year plein air artists will be painting in some of the gardens – watch for them!  New this year is our partnership with our neighbors as we feature the gardens of the Barnstable Historical Society and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. 

The tours will be held on Saturday, July 11th and Monday, July 13th, 2020 from 10 am to 4 pm .

This is a rain or shine event.  Admission is $5 per garden.  Cash or check only.

Pay at each garden – no need to purchase tickets in advance.

All attendees must wear masks, and observe proper social distancing rules.
 
The Genest’s Garden

116 Scudder's Lane, Barnstable Village

Visitors can't see this hidden garden from the street, but as you walk down the long driveway tucked into a turn of Scudder’s Lane, classic plantings of climbing hydrangea, daylilies, and perennials hint at your destination: a modern Queen Anne-styled shingle home and garden that sits directly on the marshes with spectacular, close-up views of surrounding Barnstable Harbor. Serene, shaded gardens flank the path to the front door, while in the back, borders of hydrangeas and perennials meld seamlessly with marsh cattails and Cape grasses. A variety of birds compete for housing in the unique birdhouses that punctuate the grounds, so keep an eye out for interesting birds.  Park at the top of the driveway along Scudder's Lane.

The Parke’s Garden

56 Deacon Court, Barnstable Village

Walk up the tree-shaded drive of this charming home and you will enter grounds dedicated to the gardening memories of generations!  Enter through the white picket fence and you will be surrounded by perennial beds that incorporate the beloved species of parents and grandparents, as the homeowners have lovingly carried the plants from one home to the next when the armed services transferred them and their gardens across the United States. Clematis, heuchera, varieties of hydrangea (including compact, mopheads, and tree-form), Lucifer plant, and iris abound.  A Spirit House from Bangkok shelters the premises and the owners have maintained meticulous schematics of all plantings, so any questions you may have regarding various species will find a ready answer!  Sited on the former grounds of the Barnstable County Fairgrounds, this garden carries on the vintage traditions of historic Barnstable Village; one can sense the spirits of ghostly horse races and the preceding generations as one wends a way through these loving, nostalgic gardens.  Park on Deacon Court.

Maggie Crowley’s Garden

4181 Main Street, Cummaquid  

Bought from Bert French in 1994, Maggie’s extensive historic property runs to 13 acres of mixed fields and woodlands, including Bert’s apple and peach orchards, his blueberry trees and grass fields bordered on the south side by railroad tracks, and his aptly named No Bottom Pond.  Please avoid the latter!  Maggie has added extensive gardens, mixing vegetables with annual and perennial flowerbeds.  Despite a lack of hydrangeas, the gardens produce a riot of color, thanks in part to large clusters of crocosmia, scented lilies and giant dahlias.  Please park along the left side of the very long driveway, making sure to leave room for cars to pass.

Lisa Tulis Blair Memorial Garden

3087 Main Street, Barnstable Village

(Admission to this garden will be split between the Barnstable Historical Society and Sturgis Library)

This is a new garden in progress, attached to the Barnstable Historical Society at the Phinney/Jones House across from the Sturgis Library.  A longtime Curator of the Society, Lisa Tulis Blair died on April 1, 2015, and the garden, a blend of grottos and woodland covering 2 ¾ acres, is in the process of being created in her memory.  Villagers and Historical Society members have contributed everything from stone steps to three wooden birdhouses, while the local potter has donated a beautiful ceramic birdbath.  The village blacksmith has created metal railings and volunteers have rebuilt the stone walls, bringing plant and tree offerings to the wild land as well as to the flower and herb border out back.  Please wander along the meandering paths of this calm and peaceful space, to enjoy the results. Parking is available at Sturgis Library and St. Mary’s Church.

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Gardens

3055 Main Street, Barnstable Village

(Admission to this garden will be split between St. Mary’s and Sturgis Library)

Originally conceived in 1946 by Rev. Robert Wood Nicholson, St. Marys’ gardens are a hidden treasure of Barnstable Village.  Every spring thousands of yellow daffodils bloom throughout the gardens, and as spring moves into summer each month brings a variety of colors that set off the water features, bridges, stonework, and sculptures.  There is a lovely memorial garden tucked into the woods where visitors can remember loved ones.  A walk through the gardens brings a sense of peace to all who visit there. Parking is available at the Church, or at Sturgis Library.