2024 Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival — Gardens Needed!
The 2024 Hydrangea Festival runs from Friday, July 5th through Sunday, July 14th. Gardens are open 10 AM to 4 PM. Four gardens sponsored by Yarmouth Port Library will be on display on Thursday, July 11th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Stay tuned for details on the gardens! YPL has participated in the Hydrangea Festival (HF) for the past three years, and did quite well last year, even making a bit extra thanks to the generous donation of a charming hand-built birdhouse which we were able to raffle off. The library recruits volunteers to welcome visitors and collect admission. To participate, we need gardens, preferably four of them. Gardeners might love their own gardens but worry they may be HF-unworthy, so here are some Festival suggestions in the hope that some of you might be persuaded to volunteer this year. |
To summarize, any ONE of these gardens might do: • Lots of flowers in July, not necessarily hydrangeas. Other collections? • Perhaps a beautiful view. • A large vegetable or herb garden. • Creative garden ornaments or interesting outbuildings. • Huge OR tiny garden. • Themed, such as native, shade, pollinator, etc. If you are willing but uncertain, you can contact the library at 508-362-3717, and we’ll arrange for someone to meet with you. Please consider helping out YPL this year! Dinah Wolff — dg.wolff@gmail.com |
The 2023 Festival helped to raise much needed funds for YPL.
The Hughes Garden
Owners: Diane and Peter Hughes The garden radiates out from the homestead of Captain William Hedge, who settled in Yarmouth in the seventeenth century and whose descendants lived and added to it for three centuries. It contains a formal area of shrubbery and perennials, an area of woodland with azaleas and Japanese maples and, rabbits permitting, a space devoted to vegetables and cut flowers. |
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Singing Marshes
Owner: Sally Hockenbury This interesting garden borders conservation land, overlooking Barnstable Harbor and the Sandy Neck Lighthouse. The home is situated down a narrow road among native oaks and pines. The gardener has her own kitchen garden containing raspberries, blueberries, beach plums, and vegetables such as asparagus, rhubarb, squash, beans, and cucumbers. Its unique fencing was designed to keep out deer, foxes, rabbits, and other wildlife. The property features walking paths through beach plum and juniper shrubs to views of the marsh beyond, along with a nearby osprey nest. Hydrangeas flourish on the home’s north side. An interesting arbor constructed by a friend from small cedar trees stands by the garden shed. |
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The Condon Garden Owners: Mal and Mary Kay Condon Mary Kay and Mal Condon were commercial hydrangea propagators and growers for 40 years and, as one might suspect, this is a very hydrangea-centric site. They continue to expand their collections, which now include over 300 hydrangeas in the ground, with additional container specimens to emphasize this growing technique. H. macrophylla is the dominant species, along with collections of H. paniculata and H. quercifolia cultivars. More recently, a number of H. serrata and H. arborescens plants have been added to the mix. The Condons are also serious veggie growers, utilizing raised beds to produce a wide range of favorites. Fruit is in the mix, too, with berries and figs (always hopeful), along with a recent peach and plum orchard. |
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