Northampton Garden Tour to bloom June 13

The Friends of Forbes Library Garden Tour returns on Saturday, June 13.
Photo credit: Friends of Forbes Library.

NORTHAMPTON — With spring now in full force, the 32nd annual Friends of Forbes Library Northampton Garden Tour will once again bloom for garden lovers across the region.

The event returns Saturday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to give people the opportunity to support the library and explore six diverse and delightful home gardens across the community.

The tour raises funds to support the city’s historic public library through a designed tour to inspire and educate, with a variety of landscape styles, plants and gardening methods on display. The event started 32 years ago as part of the celebration of activities that were planned for the then centennial of Forbes Library. The event has remained an annual community favorite over the years.

Plant descriptions, volunteer guides and master gardeners will be available at each garden to answer questions and educate the public about home gardening. The several locations on the tour will feature live music and plein-air painting for enjoyment, and all gardens are located within five miles of the library. A map of the tour is provided after purchase of a ticket.

“There’s about eight to 12 committee members who work all year to make this tour happen, and our priority is to have gardens that feel possible for the average gardener,” tour Chair Jody Rosenbloom told Reminder Publishing. “We also like it to have some educational dimension in that we’re connected to the library, so we try and have a variety of gardens for a variety of gardening styles and abilities.”

Tickets are $20 if bought in advance and $25 on the day of the event. They are available online at friends.forbeslibrary.org or in person through June 12 at Bay State Perennial Farm in Whately, Cooper’s Corner in Florence, State Street Fruit Store in Northampton, Sugarloaf Gardens in Sunderland or at Forbes Library.

Tickets purchased online can be picked up in person at Forbes during library hours from Thursday evening to Sunday morning on the week of the tour. Day-of tickets are only sold at Forbes Library from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 13.

Tickets provide garden sites and parking guidance, and attendees must provide their own transportation to all gardens on the tour. Carpooling and bicycling are encouraged.

“Each person, when you come, you can get a description of highlights written by the gardeners themselves about sort of what inspires them and what challenges they have had in gardening,” said Rosenbloom. “It’s the biggest fundraiser that the Friends does for the library.”

In recent years, money raised from the tours has supported the construction of the new outdoor Hess Performance Stage at Forbes and renovations of the library’s youth programming room, among other things.

“Over the last five years, some of the other highlights are something as simple as water bottle filling stations, to supporting a new collection of archives after getting a lot of materials from the Iron Horse Music Hall. And during COVID, a lot of the money went to upgrading computer and accompanying hardware and software that allowed patrons a hub, helping people find jobs, stay in communications, and we’ve always supported things that the library budget may not cover, often some staff development training. So, there’s a wide range,” Rosenbloom said.

Northampton Garden Tour T-shirts will also be available for $25, or two for $40. at the library and at the garden tour. All proceeds from the tour, raffle and T-shirt sales benefit the Friends of the Forbes Library, Inc. to support library programs, events and projects that could not otherwise be funded.

“Proceeds from the Garden Tour provide significant source of funding for the library each year that we use towards projects that better serve our community,” Forbes Library Director Lisa Downing told Reminder Publishing. “I know how hard the committee works to raise those funds, and I am so grateful to them and to everyone that comes out and supports the tour.”

Refreshments and raffle opportunities will be available during the tour, including a wooden garden bench and other gift cards in support of local businesses.

Rosenbloom said that the event has grown over time, to the point where about a third of yearly attendees are visitors from the greater New England region.

“Word gets out and we have a great reputation,” she added. “We would say two-thirds of the people who come to the tour are local, and many of them are parent-child combos, and I’m talking like a 60-year-old bringing their 80-year-old parent because it’s a really nice way to spend time with your elders. Many of them really appreciate the gardens.”

Rosenbloom said the event is great for social connection during what is typically a nice spring day. She added that all the gardens are fairly accessible for a variety of mobility needs. She shared that attendees should keep in mind that the event is not always as fun for little kids.
For more details on this year’s garden tour, visit friends.forbeslibrary.org/events/garden-tour/ or on the Forbes Library Facebook page.

“I know that the committee members love to garden and love supporting the library. Forbes is a very unique and special community service. We tend to get community organizations or things connected with gardening involved through sponsorship, and it promotes gardening and supports [the event]. It’s a win-win-win,” said Rosenbloom. “I think that it’s something active and gets people outside. It’s not big competition, it’s come and relax, learn something and see something beautiful. I know I have learned much from my fellow gardeners and from seeing the different neighborhoods [featured in tour], and I think everybody just feels more comfortable [about] the experience they have enjoying a garden on a lovely day.”