Support the preservation of notable gardens from coast to coast.
WHO: The Garden Conservancy
WHAT: The Garden Conservancy Open Days
WHERE: Anne Arundel County, Maryland
WHEN: Saturday, May 31, 10am-4pm
HOW: Ticket release date March 2025 purchase through the Garden Conservancy website: opendays@gardenconservancy.org, $10 non-member, $5 member
Open for visiting May 31, 2025 are two special gardens located just outside the historic City of Annapolis, Loblolly Cottage and Merely Summer Cottage. In 2009, these same hosts welcomed more than 500 visitors to their horticultural havens. The event prompted quite a stir after the event was recognized by Adrian Higgins on the front page of the home section of The Washington Post. The director of public programs and education of The Garden Conservancy, H. Horatio Joyce, PhD says: “The more we get out there and see new gardens and meet other gardeners, the more likely our own gardens [and communities] will evolve in positive ways.”
Beauty abounds in the two featured gardens curated by their resident horticulture professionals. Selections of choice perennials, unusual and specimen trees abound. Loblolly Cottage’s jewel box garden is further enhanced by the sounds of bubbling fountains and elegantly caged exotic, cooing birds. At Merely Summer Cottage you will find a charming tree house perched 16 feet above the ground, rustic garden fencing, French troughs and a plethora of sustainable, low maintenance ideas to reduce turf and creatively cover the earth.
The Garden Conservancy is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help “preserve, share and celebrate America’s gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public” now and into the future. This year, 2025, The Conservancy is celebrating 30 years of programs. One the most exciting and enticing fundraisers is the Open Days Program. Throughout the year and throughout the country, passionate gardeners open their private gardens for the broader public to stroll, observe, learn, inquire and converse with others on the subject of gardening. Sales from tickets support the functions of the Garden Conservancy.
