In Lexington, These Gardens Are No Secret

Lovely flowers and lush greenery will be on display this Saturday when the Field and Garden Club hosts its tour of “.”

“The gardens that are going to be on the tour are going to be really beautiful with a lot of variety of plantings, and it should be a real treat for people who like gardening,” said Varda Haimo, who handles publicity for the club.

A group from the Field and Garden Club go out looking for gorgeous gardens around Lexington and will approach the owner to see if he or she is interested in having the garden featured on the bi-annual tour. Sometimes featured gardens belong to club members, but that’s not always the case, Haimo said.

One of the stops this year will be at the home of Linda Walsh, an active member of the Field and Garden Club.

A wide variety of plants and flowers follow a path through Walsh’s back yard, stretching from a shade garden, past a Koi pond and sunroom to an arbor on the other side.

“People garden differently,” said Walsh, who was last on the tour about 10 years ago. “I’m a plant collector, so I always want a new one. And you have to make room for a new one, so I’ve taken more than 100 plants out of here this spring.”

Walsh said she collects iris, geraniums, peonies, poppies and trilliums, including some unique ones that bred themselves right in her garden. “I have a very nerdy approach to my garden,” said Walsh, who rationalizes out problems and learns the Latin names of many of her plants.

Walsh said her garden might be considered of the English style, as it creates a landscape that envelopes her entire yard. A Japanese style garden might be a bit more serene and interpret a river, while other gardeners opt for veggies or play with colors to create geometric shapes, she said.

Walsh typically starts working in her garden at the end of March or early April, and is done planting by about June, so she can sit back and enjoy her garden for most of the summer.

“I go out every morning to see what’s bloomed,” she said. “And there aren’t many days between April 15 and October 14 when there isn’t something new.”

The Garden Tour is one of the biggest fundraisers for the Field and Garden Club, which uses the money to maintain traffic circles and other landscapes around Lexington. The tour also offers a different experience for all who come along for the ride.

“I’m a gardener myself,” said Haimo, “So when I go on a tour like this, I take a pad of paper and write down ideas and I follow through on a lot of them.”

The Garden Tour takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, rain or shine.
Tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 on the day of the tour.

Tickets are available for purchase at the Visitors Center, and several local garden centers, including , , , McCue Garden Center (Woburn), and Mahoney's Garden Center (Winchester).