Gabriella Presz , of Southwick, works on her garden for the upcoming 15th Annual Grandmothers’ Garden Tour, June 15-16, 2013. This garden features a long narrow man-made stream which cascades into a peaceful pond full of colorful vegetation. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
A trio of witches take to the air in this garden located on Brookline Avenue in Westfield as part of the 15th Annual Grandmothers’ Garden Tour, June 15-16, 2013. The tour is a major fundraiser for the group which provides preservation, maintenance and historic charm of the Grandmothers’ Garden and Chauncey Allen Park located on Smith Avenue. This garden is one of five that will be featured on the tour. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – An escape through mystical and magical gardens is in store for those taking the 15th annual Grandmother’s Garden Tour June 15-16.
The tour showcases five private gardens in Westfield and Southwick, with all proceeds from this major fundraiser to benefit the preservation, maintenance and continued improvements of the historic Grandmothers’ Garden and Chauncey Allen Park.
At the home of Chris and Susan Erickson, tour goers will be treated to a garden filled with fantasy. In the front yard, fairies of all shapes and sizes offer a whimsical greeting and beckon visitors through the side yard where moss and lichens – Chris’s touch – show that a garden is more than flowers and color.
In the backyard, Susan’s love of Halloween is evident year-round with an array of orange and purple-black flora and fauna. Ghost Ferns, Foxgloves, Black Scabiosa, Mourning Widow and Gas Plants adorn the many gardens – connected by paths – that comprise her yard.
Another hint of Susan’s fondness for the magical is her collection of witches and bats, including a witch weathervane and bat statue from the Boston Garden Flower Show.
In addition to Chris’ mosses, he has a carnivorous garden with Venus Flytraps and other bug-eating plants.
There is no manicured, landscaped garden at the Erickson home, and that’s the way the homeowner’s like it.
“I like to find obscure plants and watch them grow,” said Susan. “I like the unique.”
A haven for birds and chipmunks, Susan’s gardens also include a place for butterflies.
“I have Phlox, Jupiter’s Beard, Four O’Clocks and Butterfly Weed,” she said. “I have almost everything to attract a butterfly or hummingbird except a Butterfly Bush!”
Susan developed a love for growing things at a young age. As a child, she helped tend her grandmother’s garden and was even given space there of her own. When she and Chris bought their home in 1973, she was able to turn the yard into her haven, with her husband’s help.
Susan said becoming a gardener is easy – just start gardening.
“Buy an old pot at a tag sale and fill it,” she said. “Research and study and find out what you like.”
Susan’s friend Gabriella Presz, of Southwick, is a fellow gardener whose backyard splendor is also on the tour.
Gabriella and her husband Ed have turned their yard into a series of gardens. From a Witches Brew Garden featuring plants perfect for teas, to a Kitchen Snitch Garden with everything to put on a salad, Gabriella has created a garden to satisfy her varying interests.
“At the top of the hill we have a swingset and play area for children with fruit trees,” Gabriella, a grandmother, said.
Her Spooks Garden features a variety of silver-leafed plants, while her Terra Cotta Garden has desert colored flowers in clay pots. A dry creek made of rocks meanders through the yard and a waterfall flows gently through the middle of the gardens.
Ed isn’t much of a gardener, said Gabriella, but he builds a mean birdhouse. Ed’s creations adorn the various gardens. A bird condo on top of an antique column is at the center of the garden, which also features sculptures created by the couple. They use discarded objects, including rusty augers once used on a farm, to create beautiful objects in the yard.
Gabriella was born on a tomato farm in Italy and said she grew up in the dirt but it wasn’t until she married Ed and had her own home that she began gardening. When they bought their Southwick home over 20 years ago, the yard was nothing but grass.
“I hate to mow,” she said, laughing. “So I created these gardens.”
It wasn’t quite that easy though. Gabriella said it took many years to build the magical retreat she calls home. Her advice to gardeners just starting out is simple: “Start with where you want to sit and build off of that.”
The Presz’ yard includes a rustic gazebo that offers a view of the entire yard. Because Gabriella’s gardens take on a new look with every season, she plans to display photographs of the yard taken throughout the year during the tour.
The annual Garden Party and Silent Auction also to benefit Grandmother’s Garden is June 14. The music of Curran & Company will sweeten the evening air and guests will stroll through perennial borders and woodlands enjoying friendship, conversation and gourmet summer refreshment.
Tickets for the Garden Tour are $20 per person ($15 for seniors), and tickets for the Garden Party are $45 per person. Combined tickets for the Garden Party & Tour are $60 per person. All events are held rain or shine.
For more information contact Sandy or Bob at 569-5562 or Bernadette at 562-9404, or email [email protected].
