Bay State blooms with beautiful gardens
Avibrant, purple crocus forced its way through the cold, damp soil of my front garden the other day. It was just the right nod that dreary morning and reminded me how much I craved flowers.
Not the cut ones in the countertop vase, although those do the trick when they must. But freshly opened, in the soil. Earthy, real blooms. Instead of waiting weeks longer for more flowers in my own garden, I've found spots I can zip off to for day trips alive with color. Here in New England, we can head toward the city, the mountains and even the shore to find early bright spots.
When the Berkshire Botanical Garden (5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge; berkshire botanical.org) opens May 1, things are in full swing bloomwise. Guests who meander through the 15-acre grounds will see colorful tulips, narcissus and grape hyacinths. Their flowering trees will be awash with petals as well, with the Cornelian cherry trees finishing up their season, the beautiful magnolias in full bloom and the crab apple trees just starting to show flowers.
The grounds feature a variety of themed gardens, lush lawns and all kinds of perennials such as primroses, Pulmonaria, forgetme-nots and more.
A bonus: Their education center
and greenhouses are open and active year-round.
Everyone knows the Boston Public Garden, and it is well worth a visit as blossoms make their seasonal debut. But check out the lesser-known and so lovely James P. Kelleher
Rose Garden (73 Park Dr., Boston; emeraldnecklace. org) for the start of the floral season.
Tucked into the city behind a huge green yew hedge in the Back Bay Fens, this garden has been loved and maintained since 1931, when famed Boston Mayor James Michael Curley commissioned it. It was designed by noted Hub landscape architect Arthur Shurcliff.
The garden is home to 200 varieties of roses (almost 1,500 roses in total, with labels to help you learn the names), and it’s centered around a lovely fountain. The city invested almost $200,000 into improvements recently, so you’ll find it freshened up and in top shape. It’s a perfect little escape in the middle of the city, like your own secret garden.
Down on the Cape, it is very much about the hydrangeas, and a ride along Route 6A is a flower show in its own right. But there’s more to savor. Spend a day at the Green Briar Nature Center (6 Discovery Hill Road, East Sandwich; thorntonburgess. org), part of the Thornton Burgess Society.
Their Shirley G. Cross Wildflower Garden gets blooming in late March. By April and May, you’ll find blooms that most folks never get a chance to see in the wild.
This time of year, later winter blooms like snowdrops, Lenten rose and crocus are still visible, along with just blooming scilla, chionodoxa, iris, bloodroot, bluebells, Japanese primrose and many more.
A cool thing to see this time of year are fiddleheads, which are in the process of unfurling. They offer guided tours each Wednesday for a chance to learn more about it all.
Peacefield (135 Adams St, Quincy; nps.gov/adam), President John Adams' summer White House, may just be the most magnificent yet overlooked slice of American history. Open to the public and easy to access just off the highway (and near the T), this historic home has a very special garden. Dense with dahlias, iris, daffodils and more, the garden comes to life early in the growing season and stays lovely as it adapts through the seasons.
Wandering the green and blooming space brings the name of the home to life. You can pop in to tour the home and visit the presidential library on site, then wander back into the colors. Even the plantings have history here: you can visit a stunning Yorkist rose tree, planted there by Abigail Adams herself in 1788. It shows hearty and beautiful blossoms to this day.
The family's apple orchard is on-site and still intact as well, growing a wide variety of apples. The entire property is now part of the National Parks Service.