The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program Invites the Public to Visit Private Gardens in Dutchess County and Litchfield County on July 30

COLD SPRING, NY: On Saturday, July 30^th visit five private and public gardens in Millbrook and Millerton, New York, and Lakeville and Washington, Connecticut, open to the public through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (most locations). Admission to each private garden is $7, benefitting the Garden Conservancy; children 12 and under are free. Open Days are rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Call 1-888-842-2442, or visit www.opendaysprogram.org for more information.

Properties on the July 30^th Open Day include:

• The Montgomery Glazer Property, 120 Millerton Road, Lakeville, CT – the main feature of this lakeside property is a bio-diverse meadow that attracts a wealth of birds, dragonflies, and butterflies, designed by Larry Weaner. Additional highlights include a formal entry court, cutting and herb gardens, and a bio-filtering channel that filters rain water run-off. Designer Larry Weaner and landscape architect Jamie Purinton will be on site to answer questions.
• Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT – situated around an eighteenth-century farmhouse, this romantic country garden features exuberant plantings set in rambling formal structure and is noted for its subtle and sometimes surprising color combinations. Reminiscent of such classic English gardens as Great Dixter and Sissinghurst, the garden is divided into a series of rooms which open to vistas over the garden and out onto the natural landscape beyond.
• Squirrel Hall, Millbrook, NY (directions to this garden will be provided at other locations) – comprising less than one acre, the garden is organized into a series of rooms with features that echo large estates such as an allée of hornbeams, a sunken garden, a pavilion terrace and dining courtyard, an apiary, a petite orchard, and a woodland stroll garden. Pop-up shops on site with Twin Brooks Gardens and garden-related items by Squirrel Hall.
• Hyland/Wente Garden, 95 Taylor Road, Millerton, NY – emphasizing grasses and textures, the gardens blend with surrounding wildflower meadows and include a rill with bamboo, a secret garden, a pool garden, and views of Indian Mountain and Indian Lake.
• Innisfree Garden, 362 Tyrell Road, Millbrook, NY (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) – Innisfree merges the essence of Modernist ideas and traditional Chinese and Japanese garden design principles with a nuanced reading of its glacial landscape. The result is a distinctly American stroll garden on 185 acres surrounding a large, shimmering lake. Admission is $8.

All Open Days gardens are featured in the 2016 Open Days Directory; a soft-cover book that includes detailed driving directions and vivid garden descriptions written by their owners. The directory includes garden listings in eighteen states and costs $25.95 including shipping. Visit www.opendaysprogram.org or call the Garden Conservancy toll-free at 1-888-842-2442 to order with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express, or send a check or money order to: the Garden Conservancy, P.O. Box 219, Cold Spring, NY 10516. Discount admission tickets are available as well through advanced mail order.

The Garden Conservancy created the Open Days program in 1995 as a means of introducing the public to gardening, providing easy access to outstanding examples of design and horticultural practice, and proving that exceptional American gardens are still being created. Its mission to share American gardens with the public is achieved each season, through the work of hundreds of private garden hosts and volunteers nationwide. Digging Deeper, a new series of Open Days programming, is designed to offer a deeper look into the gardening world through immersive experiences with artists, designers, gardeners, authors and other creative professionals. The Open Days program is America’s only national private garden-visiting program. For information and a complete schedule of Open Days visit the Garden Conservancy online atwww.opendaysprogram.org.