FACES & PLACES AROUND TOWN MAY 2009   ANNUAL SPRING GARDEN TOUR Calling All Hummingbirds! Spring Garden Tour Staged By the New Hope Historical Society in Bucks County for the 16th Year By Susan Sandor Ask gardeners their favorite time of year and spring is guaranteed to be the unanimous reply. Orders from catalogs and nurseries begin arriving, the sweet smell of the earth thrills the nostrils along with the scent of blossoms, and the warmth of the sun beckons those with greens thumbs to come out and play, and play, and play. Spring also signifies an annual event in Bucks County that has garnered a loyal audience of garden aficionados and oglers over the past sixteen years, the New Hope Historical Society Garden Tour, which is held on the first Saturday in June. This year put a big X on your calendar June 6th and prepare yourself for a journey that will inspire and keep you smiling until the Japanese beetles land on your roses. There are six extraordinary private gardens on the self-guided tour with the theme Pollinating Rhythm. The gardens were hand picked by the zealous garden tour committee co-chairs, Robert Goodwin and JoAnn and Ridgeway Goodwin, taking into consideration overall design, variety of plantings, and individuality. One property on the tour is a cottage garden with a grand display of roses and perennial beds bordering a small stream. Another garden leads you through a maze of pathways and groves of giant bamboo to several garden rooms. There’s so much more to tell but I think it’s best to leave as a surprise for your own eyes. The tour route is easy to follow and beautifully mapped out including explicit directions and mileage between sites on a full color brochure with photos and brief descriptions of the gardens. The brochure comes with a ticket purchase. General admission is $28 with a great stimulus offer of a $5 discount per ticket for purchases made prior to May 1st. Group discounts are also offered with a minimum purchase of ten tickets. Seems like a great incentive for gifting tickets to those who deserves a present from you this spring. New this year and touted as an extra reward for ticket holders is a 45 minute lecture on organic gardening being held toward the end of day while strolling through an amazing organic veggie garden, orchard, and grape arbor in Solebury complete with its own apiary. The owners established this garden in the early seventies on their 25-acre homestead and set up a roadside stand in mid-summer to sell their produce and fruit. Proceeds from the gentleman farmer’s stand are contributed to the owners’ favorite causes, including the New Hope Historical Society garden tour fund for next year. Just a little aside, I can tell you the tomatoes grown here are the best you’ll ever taste but since I am not allowed to divulge the location of the private gardens on tour you’ll have to buy a ticket to find out. And this rather novel idea tied to the tour is selling like fireflies in summer—a gardener’s charm bracelet with colorful enameled bugs, flowers, garden tools, and other trinkets available for $10 at the garden gates. Get a glimpse of it on the Society’s Web site and reserve one if it’s your kind of bling since only one hundred were produced. So put down your own trowel for the day and follow the hummingbirds to hover in the labor of someone else’s love. Pleasure guaranteed! The New Hope Historical Society Garden Tour, Saturday, June 6, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  rain or shine. Tickets are now available at the following locations: Angel’s Cards & Gifts and Farley’s Bookshop in New Hope, PA; Bountiful Acres, Holicong, PA; Doylestown Bookshop, Doylestown, PA; Rhodes Newtown Flower & Gift Shop, Newtown, PA; The Lambertville House, and Dresswell’s in Lambertville, NJ; Phillips’ Fine Wines, Stockton, NJ; Alchemy, Frenchtown, NJ. Tickets may also be ordered by calling the New Hope Historical Society at 215-862-5652. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the tour at the Parry Mansion Museum, Main and Ferry Streets, New Hope, PA. Major credit cards accepted. Have a friend who wants to join you at the last minute? No problem. A few tickets will be available at each garden gate. Visit www.newhopehs.org and click on the white coneflower for more information. Proceeds benefit the New Hope Historical Society and the Parry Mansion Museum.