Do you mean house garden tours? Or any type?

Did you ever take the tours at Well-Sweep in Port Murray? Extremely charming.

If you're looking for private garden tours in New Jersey,
and at the bargain price of just $2.50 each, you simply
can't beat becoming a member of The Garden Conservancy, a
nation-wide non-profit organization whose goal is to
rehabilitate and preserve notable private gardens in this
country. A year's membership costs $35.00; another $6.95
for the Northeast directory will inform you about more than
25 private New Jersey gardens (in 2005) open on specific days from May through September. The only admission fee
for any garden is $5.00, but you can cut that in half, by
buying books of 6 tickets directly from the Conservancy for
only $15.00 each. As if that weren't enough, this same
directory has similar lists of private garden showings for
every state in New England, New York and Pennsylvania !

In addition, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society offers
three all-day events (May 21, June 4, July 9), each featuring multiple gardens which you visit in any order you wish for a single one-day fee of $25.00, for non-
members; members of PHS get the tours for just $10 - and
remember that membership in PHS includes your annual free
ticket to the Philadelphia Flower Show, plus many, many other terrific benefits.

These are two of the best deals in town for gardeners!

www.gardenconservancy.org
www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org

That sounds cool, Carl. I will be checking it out. Thanks!

Loretta--yes, I've been to Well Sweep and I liked it a lot. Yeah--I'm talking about home garden tours--I like seeing what people have done to their landscapes. I do like botanical gardens. I just checked a book out from the library that lists about 50 garden/arboretums in NJ. Hopefully, I'll get to some of them this spring.

Please see the plant swap/garden visit posting on exchange page.

Duke Gardens in Somerset County (part of the Duke Estate, so it's a really large house with a really large garden)
If you like azaleas, try Sayen Gardens in Hamilton; they usually have an azalea festival for Mother's Day. Sayen gardens was once a private residence.

You could also check with the Garden Clubs of NJ. Local garden clubs are always sponsoring tours--I know there's one in Westfield in June.

Steve - I looked around the exchange page and didn't see what you were referring to.

Info on Sussex County's Annual Town & Country Garden Tour:

Ssaturday, June 3, 10am-4pm $25 973-383-0027

For the entire month of May, there's the 'Mansion in May' show house and gardens in Basking Ridge. It benefits Morristown Memorial Hospital and is run by their Women's Association. 15-20 Landscape Architects and 30+ interior designers will transform the Ross Family Farm on North Maple for one month before the property is turned over to Somerset County for a park in June.

There is a garden tour of several gardens in Allentown, (NJ). I have not seen it listed in the messenger press yet but they may have an Allentown gardenclub listed on-line. karen

I was also going to recommend the Garden Conservancy. Though I have yet to join, I've been on a tour with a friend. Unbelievable property this family had. Smacks you in the face of the have and have-nots. Nice to see our mutual funds are working for someone.

Cranford is having a garden tour next Saturday, the 10th.

Today was Montclair (whoops, a little late to post, I know.)

Last week was Morris County. There were a lot of shade gardens that were very nice. Two professionally-designed gardens--one with all these seperate garden rooms. One lady had lots of different hostas--some gigundo ones.

Tomorrow's tour in Sussex County is bound to get rained out. The rain date is Sunday, which is supposed to be very rainy, as well.

Here is a link on the Rutgers If Plants Could Talk site - not something I noticed before. Anyway, although I wouldn't consider everything listed a real garden destination, it does some have some ideas about how to spend a day.

Here is a link that might be useful: Map of NJ Gardens per Rutgers

Heads up! The Montclair garden tour is today and tomorrow. It starts at Van Vleck garden and that in itself is a fabulous garden. I went today and it was really a good one--there were some really unique uses of materials. Most were done by hired garden designers. One contractor was on-hand to discuss the construction and features. Absolutely worth it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Montclair Garden Tour

Sorry I didn't post this earlier in the season, but the
Garden Conservancy still has a few New Jersey "Open Days"
scheduled - June 13/Bergen County, July 6/Union County,
July 13/Bergen County, and Sept. 6/Essex County. You do NOT have to be a member to attend these "Open Days" -
admission is a standard $5. per garden, payable as you enter.

Check out the complete listings on their website (below),
and if you're not afraid to cross state lines, I highly
recommend any of the gardens in New York's Hudson Valley
(Westchester, Putnam, Duchess and Columbia) - also, the
gardens in Litchfield County, Connecticut (many of these
are well-known designers personal gardens) - and while
you're there include a visit to White Flower Farm, an
amazing garden unto itself!

Carl

Here is a link that might be useful: Open Days Program of The Garden Conservancy

The Nature Center at Cape will be running a number of tours of Butterfly Gardens in the Cape May area. The information can be found by going to the New Jersey Audubon site - NJAS. They will be led by one of the finest adult environmental educators around, Pat Sutton - she'll cover the plants and the critters. Other NJAS centers also have tours. The one on August 2 out of Rancocas Nature Center will go to my house and other private and public gardens in Burlington County. Mine focuses on hummingbird plants and I hope it will be ready.

Hello, just found this website. I couldn't agree more with those praising the open day tours of the garden conservancy--we have been enjoying these private gardens for about 10 years now. We look forward to that cheerful yellow directory each February. Regards, Len