Connecticut Horticultural Society

South Windsor Garden Tour and Plant Sale
2026-06-14 09:30 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | South Windsor Public Library, 1550 Sullivan Ave, South Windsor, CT, 06074
Come smell the flowers! Down to Earth Garden Club and Watershed History Collective host a South Windsor Garden Tour. Visit 6 beautiful gardens. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on the day of the tour. Tickets and information: https://www.swgardenclub.org/garden-tour.
Saturday, June 13- 8:30-4, Plant sale -SW Public Library-front lawn. Sunday, June 14- 9:30-4 – Garden Tour

Essex Garden Club Hidden Gardens Tour
2026-06-13 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-13 08:00 - 17:00 | Ivoryton Gazebo (opposite Ivoryton Library), 100 Main Street, Ivoryton, CT, 06442
$35 in advance, $40 day of tour
The 2026 Hidden Gardens Tour marks the kickoff of the Essex Garden Club’s 75th year, inviting visitors to explore a curated collection of eight private gardens in the Essex villages of Ivoryton and Centerbrook.
Pace yourself as you enjoy these unique New England gardens including a surprise roof-top garden of a prominent local business. June blooms featuring roses, peonies, bleeding hearts, irises, and wisteria-clad pergolas blend in well with shady woodland gardens of hostas, native wildflowers, and carpets of ferns and moss. Water features can be seen on this garden tour – from koi fishponds to a fishing ladder that encourages fish to swim upstream. Seasonal vegetable and cutting gardens are enclosed in a variety of square foot features. Patio and fire pit spaces are tucked away to enjoy the gardens day and night. Venture through gardens, weaving along paths to some fun features such as a chicken coop turned into a resting spot, or a gaggle of runner ducks excited to meet you. For the rock lover, a cascading riverbed runs from top to bottom in one of the gardens.
Pick up your tickets and hidden garden listings at the Ivoryton Gazebo (opposite the Ivoryton Library), then proceed with the tour of these beautiful gardens.
Rain or shine. Non-refundable. No dogs.

Gardens by the Sea Garden Tour
2026-06-13 10:00 - 16:00, 2026-06-12 10:00 - 16:00 | Wadawanuck Square, 20 Broad Street, Stonington, CT, 06378
Gardens by the Sea (June 12 & 13, 10-4 both days) is a self-guided garden tour through the historic Borough of Stonington. Experience the beauty hidden beyond its garden gates and explore waterfront vistas, terraced landscapes, and enchanted pocket gardens, designed in styles ranging from formal to eclectic. The tour will showcase 9-10 gardens, as well as several ribbon gardens.
The tour is distinctive for its botanical plant labels, and this year, many gardens will feature experts, such as a Master Gardener, horticulturist, or landscape designer, to share insights and answer questions. “Plein Air” artists will be painting in selected gardens. In addition, there will be a tented Marketplace on Wadawanuck Square featuring garden-inspired items, clothing, jewelry, and home decor.
All gardens are within a half mile of each other, and free parking will be available. Tickets are available at www.stoningtongardenclub.org/garden-tour for $50 until June 9; after that tickets will be available onsite the days of the tour for $65. The event is rain or shine and tickets are non-refundable.

Hidden Gardens Tour
2026-06-13 10:00 - 15:00 | CT
The 2026 Hidden Gardens Tour marks the kickoff of the Essex Garden Club’s 75th year, inviting visitors to explore a curated collection of eight private gardens in Ivoryton and Centerbrook. You’ll start at the Ivoryton library to pick up you tickets and hidden gardens listings and then proceed at your own pace.

The AWE Program Mindful Bonsai Workshop
2026-06-13 10:00 - 12:00 | 183 Windsor Ave. Windsor, CT 06095, 183 Windsor Ave, Windsor, CT, 06095, United States
Join us for a free workshop exploring the principles of bonsai and the art of cultivating miniature trees. Participants will learn foundational techniques while discovering how tending bonsai can become a grounding mindfulness practice rooted in care, patience, and intention. Leave with practical skills and a deeper connection to nature through thoughtful, attentive stewardship.

Plant Sale-Down to Earth Garden Club
2026-06-13 08:30 - 16:00 | South Windsor Public Library, 1550 Sullivan Ave, South Windsor, CT, 06074
Join us for our biennial plant sale. Our plant sale is on Saturday, June 13th from 8:30am to 4:00pm or unless all plants are sold early. The sale will be held at the South Windsor Library on Sullivan Avenue. The beautiful perennials are plants dug from our members’ gardens. Most plants are priced $5, with shrubs and trees priced slightly higher.

Heirloom Pressed Botanical Art Workshop
2026-06-11 17:30 - 19:30 | Heirloom Market, 263 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109
Join pressed botanical artist Marguerite Alpert for a creative and relaxing evening exploring the art of preserving nature. Learn techniques to press gorgeous fresh flowers using a traditional wooden flower press that is yours to keep, then design your own original composition using a curated selection of botanicals from Marguerite’s gardens and foraging trips.
Bring your ideas—and a favorite flower and friend, if you’d like 🌼🌼

Board Meeting
2026-06-09 19:00 - 20:00 | CT

Granby Wildflower Meadow Pocket Meadow Planting Day
2026-06-06 08:00 - 11:00 | Granby Wildflower Meadow, 175 Salmon Brook Street, Granby, CT, 06035, United States
Let’s spend some time outdoors together creating a masterpiece. No experience needed, just a willingness to get your hands a little dirty and be part of something that will bloom for years to come! Please register in advance: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BADA628AAFFC07-62480883-pocket

Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden School of Floral Arts: Peonies with Debora Reynolds of Old Hill Gardens
2026-05-31 13:00 - 15:00 | Phelps-Hatheway House and Garden, 55 South Main Street, Suffield, CT, 06078
Suffield is often described as a “town of farms”. More specifically, we like to say that it is home to a “town of flower farms”. The Phelps-Hatheway School of Floral Arts was created to showcase the magnificent blooms grown in our small community and, for the final session, in our great state of CT.
Each of the three programs will introduce participants to skilled farmers, and designers who play with flowers on an almost daily basis. Together, they’ll inspire you to grow and fashion extraordinary plant material that will grace your home and loved ones. They’ll share tips and tricks for an auspicious start to the growing season, how to harvest and store blossoms, and how to extend the season well into the winter months. All ages and abilities are welcome!
In the words of the brilliant landscape designer Gertrude Jekyll, “The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies”. Please join our staff and guest presenters as they guide you through a year of living beautifully with flowers.
Bask in the beauty of locally grown peonies with farmer/designer Debora Reynolds, who will share her experience in growing and arranging peonies with complementary late spring blooms. Vases and refreshments included with tickets.

West Hartford Garden Club Garden Tour & Plant Sale, 10:00 - 4:00, Saturday, May 30, 2026 (rain or shine)
2026-05-30 10:00 - 16:00 | St. James Episcopal Church, 1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford, CT, 8 Garland Rd, West Hartford, CT, 06107, United States
The West Hartford Garden Club is hosting its 17th garden tour, The Voice of the Garden, on Saturday, May 30th, showcasing six private West Hartford gardens. This event includes an all-day plant sale at St. James Episcopal Church (1018 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford) with donations from Garden Club members. No ticket is required to attend the plant sale.
Garden Tour tickets can be purchased online starting April 15, 2026 at westhartfordgardenclub.org, or in person at Moscarillo’s Garden Shoppe (2600 Albany Ave, West Hartford). Proceeds support the 91-year-old club’s mission and civic projects.

Barn Talk: Better Together: Designing with Plant Combinations
2026-05-30 10:00 - 11:30 | Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT, 06759
Good design happens when individual elements come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Just as you coordinate clothing or pair food and wine for harmony and impact, thoughtful plant combinations can transform an ordinary garden into an unforgettable experience. In this lively session, we’ll explore how contrasting and complementary colors and textures create successful plant pairings. Learn how to use a gardener’s color wheel to build compositions that feel dynamic, intentional, and visually compelling all year long. Whether you’re working with containers, borders, or sweeping beds, expect to gain not only inspiration, but also clear, actionable tools for choosing plant partners that truly shine better together
Caitlin Bird Francke is the founder of Caitlin Bird Landscape Design, a full-service landscape design firm in Chatham, New Jersey. A former journalist and social media executive — twice nominated for Pulitzer Prizes — she discovered that her true joy comes from designing outdoor spaces, or as she puts it, creating happiness from the ground up. Trained at the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, Caitlin writes for Fine Gardening magazine and her work has been featured on Martha Stewart. But she doesn’t take it all too seriously: she wrote a ‘Tiny Love’ column for The New York Times about breaking up with a plant.
HHG Members $30
Non-members $40 (includes admission to the garden)

Designing Meadows and Naturalized Plantings for a Human Landscape with Kathy Connolly 5/28/26
2026-05-28 19:00 - 20:30 | CT
Kathy Connolly
Designing Meadows and Naturalized Plantings for a Human Landscape
May 28, 2026, 7pm
CNTR and on Zoom
725 Main Street, Middletown
Free for members; $10 for non-members (register here)
Meadows and other naturalized landscapes are often imagined as capturing nature’s patterns and benefitting local ecology. Yet, to gain acceptance in a human setting, a great deal of planning—and some compromise–​may be required. In this discussion, we’ll consider topics such as scale, proximity to visitors, sightlines, pathways, edges, seating, signs, standards of care, the dormant season, and more. We’ll especially talk about the perennially interesting topic of plant heights. This talk explores form and setting, not specific plant selections or layering. Plant lists are included in the handout.
Kathy Connolly is a landscape designer who specializes in naturalized designs, low-impact landscape techniques, and native plants. In addition to her design projects, she gives more than 30 talks and workshops annually. Since 2013, Kathy has published more than 200 articles and newsletters on landscapes, trees, plants, and land care. Kathy has a master’s degree from the Conway Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning and Design.
Free for members; $10 for non-members (register here)

The AWE Program Forest Fungi Cultivation Workshop
2026-05-23 10:00 - 12:00 | 183 Windsor Ave. Windsor, CT 06095, 183 Windsor Ave, Windsor, CT, 06095, United States
Join us for a free, hands-on workshop where participants will drill and inoculate logs with mushroom spores while learning the fundamentals of small-scale mushroom cultivation. Explore the powerful role fungi play in ecological systems, soil health, and sustainable food production. Participants will leave with practical knowledge and a deeper understanding of how mushrooms support healthy, resilient ecosystems.

The AWE Program Soil Stewardship Workshop
2026-05-16 10:00 - 13:00 | 183 Windsor Ave. Windsor, CT 06095, 183 Windsor Ave, Windsor, CT, 06095, United States
Join us for a free, hands-on workshop exploring composting systems, vermiculture, and activated biochar while learning how to regenerate soil from the ground up. Participants will gain practical experience building healthy soil, improving plant vitality, and supporting long-term ecosystem health. Discover how stewardship begins beneath our feet and leave with tools to nurture the soil in your own community.

Barn Talk: Secrets to a Successful Cutting Garden
2026-05-16 10:00 - 11:30 | Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT, 06759
Ready to grow your own gorgeous bouquets? Let flower farmer Elizabeth Brown, author of the brand-new The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden, show you how to plan, design and cultivate a joyful cutting garden. Learn to build a cohesive color palette that looks great in the garden and in the vase. Discover “cut-and-come-again” varieties that truly earn their keep. Find out how succession planting techniques can keep your buckets full of blooms all season long. Elizabeth will also share her favorite tips for growing healthier plants, making the most of small spaces, and creating sustainable flower arrangements right from your backyard. If you’ve ever dreamed of harvesting your own fresh flowers, this session is the perfect place to start. You’ll leave feeling excited—and ready—to grow a cutting garden of your own.
Following the presentation, enjoy light refreshments and meet Elizabeth as she signs copies of her new book. To be assured of a copy, we recommend purchasing one with your reservation.
Elizabeth Brown is the owner of Foxglove Farmhouse, a regenerative cut flower garden in coastal Maine that brings fresh blooms to the local community. She believes flowers have the power to heal, connect, and bring joy—often when we need it most. Through Foxglove Farmhouse, Elizabeth offers in-person workshops and virtual learning opportunities for beginner gardeners via her digital hub. A Maine Master Gardener volunteer and certified therapeutic horticulturist, she is the author of The Beginner’s Cut Flower Garden, newly published by Timber Press.
HHG Members $30
Non-members $40 (includes admission to the garden)
Book $28

Simsbury Garden Club Annual Plant Sale
2026-05-16 09:00 - 13:00 | Simsbury Farms, 100 Old Farms Road, west simsbury, CT, 06092, United States
Join us for our exciting annual plant sale on 5/16/2026. Beginning at 9:00 am @ Simsbury Farms Skating Rink 100 Old Farms Road West Simsbury, CT, 06092
Offering a fine array of native plants (many from member gardens), premium annuals and hanging baskets, gardening advice (bring your photos), garden goods including pots/vases/repurposed tools, etc., kid’s activities, and much more.
Cash, check, credit/debit cards.

Goshen Garden Club Plant Sale
2026-05-16 09:00 - 12:00, 2026-05-16 08:00 - 17:00 | Goshen Fairgorunds, 116 Old Middle Street, Goshen, CT, 06756
Pre-order plants by May 1 or visit the Goshen Garden Club Plant Sale, being held at the Goshen Fairgrounds on May 16 from 9am-noon. Hangin baskets, potted annualsm perennials, herbs and our member-dug perennial plants. Cash and carry at the fairgrounds., where there will also be a bake sale and raffle. If you would like to pre-order, go to goshengardenclub.org, or pick up a form at town hall, the Goshen Public Library or Goshen Wine & Spirits.

SAVE THE DATE! CT Hort’s annual plant sale is set for May 15
2026-05-15 18:30 - 21:00 | CT
Connecticut Horticultural Society’s annual Plant Sale & Auction returns on Friday, May 15 from 6:30-9pm at Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin, CT, and will include an unusual collection of plants and shrubs.
Doors open at 6:00pm with a plant sale and silent auction of perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs, shrubs and silent auction treasures from local growers, wholesalers, and businesses, and ends with a live auction of some eclectic offerings.

Proceeds from all sales are deposited into the Society’s Scholarship Fund and used to provide scholarships to Plant Science students at the University of Connecticut (since 1959), and Naugatuck Valley Community College (since 2011). In addition, funds in excess of our scholarship commitments will spill over to CT Hort Cares, our civic grants program.
Admission to the Plant Sale and Auction is $5 and includes refreshments.
Bethany Covenant Church is at 785 Mill Street in Berlin, CT. For more information, visit www.cthort.org or email auction@thort.org.

CT Hort Spring Annual Plant Sale & Auction
2026-05-15 18:30 - 21:00 | Bethany Covenant Church, 785 Mill Street (Rt. 372), Berlin, CT
Connecticut Horticultural Society’s annual Plant Sale & Auction returns on Friday, May 16 from 6:30-9pm at Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin, CT, and will include an unusual collection of plants and shrubs.
Doors open at 6:00pm with a plant sale and silent auction of perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs, shrubs and silent auction treasures from local growers, wholesalers, and businesses, and ends with a live auction of some eclectic offerings. $5 admission fee.

May In Bloom Flower Show presented by the Garden Club of Newtown
2026-05-13 - 2026-05-15 | Newtown Community Center, 8 Simpson Street, Newtown, CT, 06470
An NGC standard flower show open and free to the public on the following dates in May:
Wed, 5/13: 1:00 pm–8:00 pm, Thurs, 5/14: 9:00 am–8:00 pm, Friday, 5/15: 9:00 am –8:00 pm
To access more information about this show and to register to enter please see the website as indicated.

Board Meetings
2026-05-12 19:00 - 20:00 | CT

The History of Salt Haymaking in New England Marshes
2026-05-12 12:00 - 14:00 | Nathanael Greene Community Center, 32 Church Street, Guilford, CT, 06437
Leete’s Island Garden Club hosts Shaun Roche, Visitor Services Manager of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Center, who will present a talk which will include salt marsh ecology and historical photos of haymaking in our local marshes.
For more information about this free event and to register, please call 203-453-0780

The World of Peonies
2026-05-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Rd., Avon, CT, 06001, United States
This talk will cover all the basics of identifying, appreciating and growing peonies. Daniel Furman of Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston, CT will dive into the diverse world of peonies. From their roots as medicinal plants in China and Europe, to symbols of wealth and presigate in Imperial China, and finally to a perennial suitable for almost any landscape today, peonies hold a special place in the hearts of gardeners the world over. The talk will intertwine the rich history of this storied plant along with practical advice on growing great peonies in New England.
Free to attend. Register at www.avonctlibrary.info
Co-sponsored by the Garden Club of Avon & Avon Library
Program will be held at the Avon Library, 281 Country Club Rd., Avon, CT
Dan Furman is co-owner Cricket Hill Garden, a second generation specialty nursery and forest farm, in Thomaston, CT. Since joining the business in 2010, he has worked to expand the peony production program at the nursery, as well as diversify the stock grown to include unusual landscape and forest edibles.

In-person presentation: The Language of Butterflies
2026-05-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Cheshire Congregational Church, 111 Church Drive, Cheshire, CT, 06410, United States
Butterflies are one of the world’s most beloved insects. Find out more about them and what draws us to these creatures.
Journalist Wendy Williams invites you to learn “The Language of Butterflies” and reveal the critical role lepidoptera play in our world.

Essex Garden Club May Market
2026-05-09 09:00 - 13:00 | Essex Town Park, Main Street, Essex, CT, 06426
The Essex Garden Club’s May Market has been a major Springtime event in Essex for more than 70 years. This most important fundraising event for the club began as a small plant sale across from the Griswold Inn and has grown into a garden extravaganza now held in the Town Park. It features annuals, members’ perennial plants, herbs, shrubs and fresh-cut flowers, as well as garlic salt, gently-used home and garden treasures, garden gifts, and jewelry.

Leete's Island Garden Club Plant Sale
2026-05-09 09:00 - 12:00 | Southwest corner of the Guilford Green, Whitfield Street, Guilford, CT, 06437, United States
The annual event features member grown annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs and hanging pots. Proceeds fund civic projects and educational events.
Event information: 203-453-0780
Rain date, May 10.
