Natick Garden Tour

Last Sunday a  friend and I went on a garden tour in Natick, MA.  When people think of Natick, they often picture the Natick Mall, or the Hopper-esque downtown.

(The above is a watercolor I painted of a Natick street in 1995.)

The town is more diverse than that, as we discovered on our tour of four beautiful and diverse gardens.  Before I write about them individually, I need to talk about the special qualities of gardens that are on tours.  First, they usually are quite large.  My quarter acre lot would most likely not be on a tour.  Second, each garden reflects the unique vision of the owner; some are very formal, some use lots of specimen plants.  You therefore need to look at these sites thoughtfully; their ideas may not work in your space.

The first garden we toured was quite large and had many specimen plants, which were used well.  You have to be careful with exotic types - use too many in one area and you lose the impact of a single plant.

This garden, as well as the other three, had paths and water features.  Again, not appropriate features for all gardens.

What I liked about this area was the color combination of yellow and purple.  These colors balance each other because they are complements.  I also liked hearing the frogs croak.  Gardens can always use frogs as they catch lots of insects.

The second garden had, for me, the ultimate luxury - sculpture.  The artist Karin Stanley (KarinStanley.com), lent several pieces to the garden for the tour.

This garden had some lovely paths that effectively transitioned from a sunny, formal area to a shady, wilder area.

The third garden was just outside of Natick Center.  This one was the most formal of the four and was distinguished by the owners' decision to design outdoor "rooms".  They achieved a relaxed and liveable yet formal landscape - quite an accomplishment!

The background space was built first, and is often used for pre-dinner cocktails.  The foreground space is used for dining.  I don't think that I would ever feel the need to go to a bed and breakfast if I lived here.

The fourth garden was tucked away in a section of Natick that I did not know existed.  The owner has created a garden on the smallest of the four properties.  This one has been inspired by Japanese gardens and design concepts, notably Notan, the balance of light and dark (I wrote about Notan in a 2013 post.)

The above picture shows a "riverbed" made of stones.  I saw a similar, though larger, one, at the Cleveland Botanical Garden's Japanese garden.

More sculpture was to be found; I imagine that the owner created this one:

Going on a garden tour is a delightful way to spend an afternoon.  You get to talk to other people who are just as passionate as you are about plants and design, and who usually add useful insights.  I recommend that you go on one if you get the chance.