Open Days Garden Visitors

Open Days Garden Visitors: Forming a Dynamic Community and Exchanging Ideas

We would not have Open Days without garden visitors! They support our programs and share their ideas with hosts and other participants. Open Days garden visitors—more than 1,350,000 of them across the country since 1995—are an essential part of our nationwide community of gardeners and garden enthusiasts teaching and inspiring each other. Here are just a few of the things they say about Open Days.

“To be immersed in all of this beauty, if only for an hour, was an incredible treat.” “This is my tenth year of enjoying incredible private gardens through the Garden Conservancy. Thank you so much for this wonderful program!” “Spending time with family and friends amongst all this beauty has created some wonderful memories. Thank you for all you do!” “A spectacular tour of private gardens! The color palette was beyond words. A visual experience I will never forget…a lasting memory in my mind and a forever flower dream.” “You make the world a better place.” “I have been a member of the Garden Conservancy for five years. Each season, I try to attend as many garden tours as I can. I can never thank the hosts enough for all of their generosity!” “Garden Conservancy Open Days are the best thing ever!” “Open Days… is your passport to a spectrum of garden delights.” “The Open Days program has evolved into a forum for the valuable exchange of ideas and information, as well as a celebration of a mutual respect and love for nature and gardening.” “You will be energized; you will be dizzy with ideas to bring back to enhance your own garden. You will discover that no two gardens are alike, or even similar, and that each area of this country is rich in gardens.” “I gather ideas for my own gardening adventures—and leave some of my own teachings behind.” “It’s a feeling of being inspired by a private paradise that drives us to see what other gardeners have

created.” “In the garden our senses meld into each other: smell, vision, hearing, and touch. We arrive at a state of sublime synesthesia, where our sense flow into each other.” “A visit to a great garden never fails to inspire and delight. It is where we realize that all gardens, including our own, are the result of dedication and devotion bestowed upon the land by the garden’s creator.” “There is something incredibly festive about Open Days, something memorable. Most gardeners have a bit of the introvert in them, but when you bring us out of our shell, please do so among other gardeners!” “As the Dallas area representative for Open Days and a landscape designer, I get to see many gardens others may not. What I really love to do is plan vacations around Open Days throughout the country. I enjoy entrée to local gardens but the real treat is seeing what else is happening around the country.” “Amazing tours, talks, and events!” “Es maravilloso tener la oportunidad de apreciar tanta belleza.” “Last year’s Open Days gardens in Jacksonville, FL, were simply superb! It was a joy to see thoughtful and lovely gardens and learn from other homeowners. And we were pleased you included the gardens at the Cummer Museum; even though badly damaged by Hurricane Irma, they gave us an idea of their structure and beauty.” “Spent a delightful day with my better half touring three gardens yesterday. They were all incredible and inspirational.” “I have not only seen great gardens, but met many delightful fellow gardeners at the Open Days.” “Great people, great gardens!” “This organization has granted me access to hundreds of great gardens across this continent. It’s a great way to meet passionate people and get a little inspiration of your own.” “I have had some really lovely adventures over the years visiting Open Days gardens. Our garden today is a lot better because of the beautiful gardens we have visited and learned from.” “That’s what is so cool about Open Days. It’s the perfect marriage: visitors pick up ideas for their own gardens, meet lots of like-minded garden enthusiasts, and talk to designers.” “We visited two gardens in New Hampshire. It was wonderful! We were so inspired that we’ve embarked on a big landscaping upgrade at our own home.” “Beautiful and educational!”