Rock Bottom Garden

This one-acre garden has been shaped by three decades of collaboration between a woody plant zealot and a perennial gardener. From the 1855 house situated on top of a dry knoll, one enjoys sweeping vistas of the gardens below. When we first started gardening here, the property was a jungle of invasive trees, dying white ash, and multiflora rose. All were cut down, leaving us with a garden as sunny and windswept as the plains of Kansas for some years. We remedied this by planting trees, some of which are now nearly 60 feet tall. At present the garden is shaded in large part, and the perennial plantings are transitioning to reflect that. The garden features many unusual trees and shrubs, including rare magnolias and maples (some grown from seed), an herb garden, gravel garden, and a small vegetable garden. The striking topography makes the garden seem much larger than its actual size, and the trees include beautiful specimens you probably won't see anywhere else in New England.

Open Days 2023: Saturday, May 20
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.