Old Shoes
While we recommend you wear old shoes and pack an umbrella when you visit our Hellebore Open on April 20 and 21, we promise you will be greatly rewarded with a full day of unprecedented early spring beauty.
Unbeatable value, too.
Imagine what a five dollar ($5.00) entry fee—refundable as credit for a plant purchase—gets you these days, and you cannot even dream up anyone to match our offer of a day filled with botanical delights.
Personally guided garden walks; free refreshments; monumental sculptures; 60 acres of a spectacular estate, cultivated test plots, woodland paths, ponds and fountains; historic house tours; a surprising goodie bag; and, finally, the fellowship of hundreds of fellow gardeners—all are included in the entry fee.
In addition, you will be able to purchase garden-ready plants from a selection of hundreds of rare and unusual cultivars on sale—grown especially for the Open Day event—with a special emphasis on exotic Hellebores from our research program.
Lunch will be available for purchase—around lunchtime—consisting of grilled hamburgers, bratwurst, Italian sausages and vegetables. Also, for only another $10.00 you may hear a lecture about colonial American plant exploration by Bill LeFevre, Executive Director of Bartram’s Garden.
Finally, if you attend the Friday event, you may wish to stay until 5:00 P.M., when we offer—FREE—wine “warmers” and hors d’oeuvres to all our guests.
We don’t “promise the world” at our Fordhook Opens, we give it to you. Just be sure to wear your old shoes, and bring an umbrella (just in case) to this one. April in the Delaware Valley is sometimes a bit moist.
Click here for directions to the Open or to sign up for Bill LeFevre’s lectures