On Saturday, July 20, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, six private and very diverse gardens and farms will welcome visitors on the Hoosick Blooms 2019 tour. Following a watercolor map created especially with an eye to beautiful views, participants on this self-driving tour will see unique gardens tucked into the rolling hills of Hoosick and neighboring communities. Three properties on the tour, Jermain Hill Farm, Berle Farm and the Historic Barns of Nipmoose, are conserved as Forever Farmland by the Agricultural Stewardship Association, and the Fraser/McDonald House has received designation as an official Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. The Fraser site is also the birthplace of Simon Fraser who became a renowned Canadian explorer.
In the Village of Hoosick Falls, two gardens are in easy walking distance of one another. One is the site of the 1891 Old St. Mary’s School with plants dramatically banked and supported on recycled architectural fragments from the recent conversion of the school to apartments. The second is part of Woodpark Senior Housing, where a new shade garden on the north slope of the site facing the Village green is a community supported project sponsored by CiviCure and led by Marianne Zwicklbauer and Melodee James. Many community volunteers shared divisions of their plants as well as hands-on help while excavation services, plants and mulch were donated by local businesses including Bloomin’ Art, Elhannon’s Nursery, Herrington Farms, Suttonscapes and Tractor Supply.
An exhibition of art by Susan Crile will be held at the Historic Barns of Nipmoose. Honors earned by Crile, a Bennington College alumna, include residencies at the American Academy in Rome, MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH and Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY.
The Barns will also host the reservation only lunch. A variety of sandwiches and sides including vegetarian options will be prepared by Brown’s Brewing Company’s Walloomsac Brewery and Taproom and served from noon to1:30 pm.
Lunch tickets must be purchased in advance. The deadline is July 17. Tour and lunch tickets may be ordered online at hoosickblooms.org or purchased locally at Thorpe’s Pharmacy, SmallSong, Hobson’s Choice, Clear Brook Farm, CiviCure’s office in the Wood Block Building at 5 Main Street, Hoosick Falls and Brown’s Brewing Company’s Walloomsac Taproom and Brewery in North Hoosick. Tour admission buttons and maps that have been purchased online are available for pick up at CiviCure from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday through Wendesday and Friday, or on the day of the event. For further information call 518-925-3623 or email civicure@gmail.com.
Hoosick Blooms 2019 benefits CiviCure’s fund for the renovation of the historic Wood Block Building and Opera House.