RSS
Home
North Hampton's Fuller Gardens: Almost a secret
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Do you long to discover a secret garden behind tall hedges, where hundreds of rose blossoms mingle their scents with the sea breeze?
Here, koi wave their fins languorously in a pond under the trees. Cactuses flower in a desert conservatory. Perennials bloom in a myriad of colors, painting an ever-changing portrait of summer.
The first time I visited Fuller Gardens, a public display garden backed by a large carriage house (a remnant of the former Fuller estate), I thought of that classic book, "A Secret Garden," written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and published in 1910.
"I'm going to live with my uncle in a great house in Yorkshire, it has a hundred rooms. And I shall have acres and acres of gardens, and great many servants." - Mary Lennox
It didn't turn out quite like that for Mary. She and her sickly cousin Colin, with the help of local boy, Dickon, rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to revive the garden they found neglected and dying behind a great wall on her uncle's estate. The book is about the healing power of being in a garden, of caring for plants and other living things.
Visitors to Fuller Gardens are a bit spoiled by comparison - it has been well-tended since it was first laid out in 1930. In 1938, it was improved upon by a partner in the famous Olmsted Brothers design firm of Boston, which was responsible for many well-known landscape and urban design projects throughout the nation.
Fuller Gardens is one of the few remaining formal estate gardens from the early 20th century. It is preserved by the Fuller Foundation, a legacy of Alvan T. and Viola Fuller of Massachusetts, who enjoyed summers in their "cottage" by the sea, in the Little Boar's Head village district of North Hampton. But you don't have to be rich to hobnob in this special spot among the large rambling homes by the sea.
Admission to the garden is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors. Students are $5, children under 12 are $3, and carried infants are free.
.jpg)
Roses are a main attraction. There are over 1700 bushes, in hundreds of varieties. These ancient symbols of love and beauty begin blooming at the end of June and continue through the first frost.
Deep snow is ideal for protecting them in the winter, but since it is not always guaranteed, the staff will also pile soil and salt hay at the base of each bush. Constant deadheading of spent blooms all summer encourages new flowers to appear.
The grounds are compact not rambling and a visit may last from 20 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your fancy. It's a peaceful place, tucked away so close (yet so far) from the summer crowds.
The entrance is 200 yards north of the intersection of Route 1A (Ocean Boulevard) and Route 111 (Atlantic Avenue) at 10 Willow Ave., North Hampton. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from mid-May through mid-October, or until the first hard frost.
The annual July garden party is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, from 5 to 8 p.m. The evening will include live jazz with Greg Brown and Friends, wine and beer tasting by Jewell Towne Vineyards and Smuttynose Brewing Company, a silent art auction, hors d'oeuvres by the Galley Hatch, and a cheese tasting by C'est Cheese. Admission is $15, with members admitted free.
A fall evening seminar with cocktails and appetizers on September 24, from 6 to 8 p.m., will review techniques for winterizing your garden. Fuller Gardens is also a special place for a wedding or wedding reception.
As the poet wrote: Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
When: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, mid-May through mid-October
Where: 10 Willow Ave., North Hampton, New Hampshire, USA (Google map)
Why: 1700 rose bushes, formal landscape plan, Japanese garden, perennials, conservatories, quiet green place off the beaten path
ROSES begin blooming in the last week of June
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
