artsculture

The Audubon Center and Sanctuary has announced the participants in its Secret Gardens Tour on Saturday, June 26. The six hidden gardens on the tour are located in Jamestown, West Ellicott, and Lakewood, New York. (Photo courtesy of Dave Cooney)

Jamestown, NY – The gardens may be hidden, but they’re no longer secret: the Audubon Center and Sanctuary has announced the participants in their seventh Secret Gardens Tour on Saturday, June 26.

“We are just thrilled with this year’s participants,” chairperson Merle Syzdlo said in making the announcement. “Some are new, some are returning, and all are both unique and stunning!”

The six featured gardens are:

· The Culpepper Garden, Irene Culpepper, gardener; 235 Falconer Street in Jamestown

· The Johnson Garden, Cheryl and Les Johnson, gardeners; 899 Hunt Road in Lakewood

· Memory Gardens, Terri Ingersoll and Dick Peterson, gardeners; 560 Fairmount Avenue in West Ellicott

· The Shepherd Garden, Betsy Shepherd, gardener; 44 West Terrace Avenue in Lakewood

· The Smith Garden, Jean Smith, gardener; 27 Walnut Street in Jamestown

· The Switala Garden, Dave and Marjorie Switala, gardeners; 244 Martin Road in Jamestown

Rain or shine, hours are 10:30 am to 4 pm for Audubon’s seventh garden tour.

The 2010 tour is the first to include a non-residential garden. With more than a mile of completely handicapped-accessible walking trails, Memory Gardens has exquisite landscaping, a trout pond, and a secret pocket garden. The Smith garden is also sure to be a favorite, as it offers restroom facilities.

Retired Jamestown Public Schools music teacher Mary Anne Harp originated the idea of having a gardens tour as a fundraiser for Audubon, and this is the seventh tour that Ms. Szydlo has organized. Working with them in planning this year’s event are Marilyn Anderson, Barb Eggleston, Eleanora Lund, Joyce Mallare, Joan Marcello, and Lissa VanDewark.

Ten dollar tickets for the day can be purchased at the Audubon Center, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Four Seasons Nursery and Garden Center, Lake View Gardens, Peterson Farm, Secret Gardens Flowers Shop, Stillwater Garden Market in Jamestown, Krist Hansen Nursery in Lakewood, Robert’s Nursery in Falconer, and Skillman’s in Bemus Point. Tickets are also available at all gardens the day of the tour.

The Secret Gardens Tour supports the nature education programs of the Audubon Center and Sanctuary at 1600 Riverside Road, off Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren. The Center’s building, with a nature store and exhibits of live fish, reptiles, amphibians and more, is open Monday-Saturday 10 am-4:30 pm, Sundays 1-4:30 pm. Its five and a half miles of trails, Bald Eagle viewing, arboretum, and three distinct gardens are open dawn to dusk every day.

For more information on Audubon Center and Sanctuary and the Secret Gardens Tour, please call (716) 569-2345 or visit www.jamestownaudubon.org.