THE AMENIA GARDEN CLUB PRESENTS: THE REAL GARDENS OF AMENIA
AMENIA, NY – JULY 8, 2023
The Garden Club of Amenia is thrilled to announce the return of its annual garden tour. After being on
hiatus for three years because of COVID, the tour will be held this year on July 8th (rain or shine) from
10:00 am to 2:00 pm and will feature six private gardens: Broccoli Hall, The Durbridge Garden, the Garden
of Nancy Link, Neverest, Teeniepaw Cottage and Jade Hill.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased on the Garden Club’s website at www.ameniagardens.org.
The Club’s annual tour has been a community favorite for over 25 years. The theme for this year’s tour is
“The Real Gardens of Amenia” and will feature a wide range of gardens, including many old favorites as
well as one new garden. Maxine Paetro will be welcoming visitors once again to Broccoli Hall, her magical
English-style cottage garden. Andy Durbridge, a longtime board member of the Amenia Garden Club, will
open his garden that includes a small orchard, ornamental perennials and grasses, shrubs and trees, and
seasonal container plants. The new garden on the tour this year is in the center of Wassaic. Nancy Link
has created a delightful oasis on a very difficult small plot of land sandwiched between Old Route 22 and
a steep hill. Visitors will be delighted to see how beautifully Nancy has dealt with these challenges. Also
located in Wassaic, Leo Blackman and Ken Monteiro (Amenia Garden Club President) will be opening their
garden, “Neverest,” and much has changed since it was last on the Amenia Garden Tour. As supporters
of Homegrown National Park, whose mission is to encourage the planting of native plants and the removal
of invasives, Ken and Leo have converted a portion of their lawn into two new native beds and are
replacing a large swath of invasive shrubs from their east border with native viburnums, blueberries and
red-stemmed dogwoods. Emily Fuller’s Garden, “Teeniepaw Cottage,” will also be back on the tour this
year. Emily’s focus on native plants includes a continuous bed of pollinator flowers that will bloom all
summer attracting bees and other pollinators. Amenia Garden Club board member Paul Arcario’s
wonderful Jade Hill will be open to visitors once again. Paul and his late husband Don Walker created an
impressive garden on a very steep slope with interesting specimen trees and plants, ponds with water
lilies and a tea garden pagoda. Jade Hill is a favorite of the Garden Conservancy annual tour welcoming
hundreds of visitors each summer.
The Garden Club of Amenia is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. In addition to its annual garden tour,
the Club carries out community projects with its volunteer members such as the restoration and
maintenance of Borden Park in Wassaic.
