July 6, 2025
Get ready for an exclusive opportunity to discover some of Connecticut’s most exquisite private landscapes. On Sunday, July 13, three exquisite private gardens in Hartford and Windham Counties will be accessible to the public for just one day. Prepare to be inspired by diverse horticultural artistry, with each offering a unique and unforgettable experience. The three featured gardens are:
Murray Gardens, Glastonbury. This property is a two-acre collection of gardens carved out of a woodland setting punctuated by unusual and native trees. The front yard features three long blooming perennial borders, a hydrangea bed, and a small pond with a weeping maple water sculpture that gently rains all day. Also in front is a bank of Carpet Flower roses, as well as a naturalized woodland garden, where you can enjoy a myriad of shade and woodland plants and sculpture surprises with soft music in the background. The backyard has several gardens built into the pool deck and a formal triangle garden containing ‘Knock Out’ roses, Oriental lilies, and coleus inside a boxwood border. Daylily beds run along an old stone wall beside a large perennial garden and patio. Curved steps ascend from there to a 50-foot rose bed. Finally, the sunken garden features a waterfall running from a little upper pond to the fishpond below, surrounded by a spectacular Heptacodium tree, several large Japanese maples, and a collection of miniature conifers. Watching over the pond is a six-foot frog sitting on a stone bench.
Pondview Paradise, Ashford. This remarkable 4-acre garden, set on a private 8-acre pond, offers a captivating experience. Two acres feature a serene private park with flowering trees and an ornamental gazebo, while another acre is intensely groomed, highlighting a vast collection of unusual shrub and tree specimens. The uncountable perennial collection includes a massive cutting garden, and a 1,400-square-foot vegetable garden tirelessly produces from early May through late fall. Thoughtfully placed outdoor seating areas offer diverse views. Among the plantings, you will find a beautiful bronze statue, a bubbling basalt fountain, and a fieldstone-backed beach area. A unique homemade fence design also keeps deer out, preserving this magnificent sanctuary.
Tranquil Refuge, Ashford. Tucked away at the end of a thousand-foot unpaved driveway, a passive solar home and gardens emerge from a woodland clearing, once ancient farmland. The deer-prone front yard features ornamental grasses, shrubs, perennials, and annuals less appealing to local wildlife. In contrast, the backyard, secured by a hidden 700-foot fence, boasts a butterfly garden, woodland gardens, an herb bed, and a 'tropical dreams' circle. Multiple paths wind through diverse sun/shade beds, all enclosed by stone walls repurposed from the property's original structures. By mid-July, the garden explodes with blooms, including Agastache, Echinacea, Hydrangea, and lilies.
The gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for registered guests. Tickets are $10 per person; $5 for members of the Garden Conservancy. Children 12 and under are admitted for free when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Visitors are reminded that no pets are allowed. All registrations must be processed online through the Garden Conservancy's website. Visit gardenconservancy.org/opendays.
