Soak within the attraction of a modern-day cottage backyard Aug. 5
BELFAST — On the 1849 dwelling of Judy and David Bond in Belfast, hollyhocks, phlox, and daisies are simply a number of the heirloom crops that evoke the grace and attraction of a Nineteenth-century English cottage backyard.
The general public is invited to tour the Bonds’ backyard at 15 Congress St. in Belfast Saturday, Aug. 5, throughout the Belfast Backyard Membership’s summer season occasion sequence, Open Backyard Days. Their backyard can be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Admission is $5, serving to assist the membership’s public service initiatives all year long. It’s the seventh of 9 personal gardens the membership is showcasing on Saturdays by way of Aug. 19.
The Bonds retired to Belfast from Massachusetts in 2014, bringing their love for cottage gardens with them. David was an actual property appraiser, Judy, a cardiac nurse. Their historic brick dwelling on Congress sits on one-third of an acre with a degree and open space for gardening.
The earlier homeowners had created a fenced vegetable backyard that was amply fertilized by a flock of chickens. The couple has continued to take care of these profitable vegetable plots, including three round gardens, planted densely and informally, Judy Bond says, with the “outdated, outdated crops” of the cottage-garden model.
Along with hollyhocks, phlox, and daisies, guests may also discover such heirloom backyard classics as coneflowers, clematis, bee balm, sedum and lavender. Alongside a yard fence, the Bonds have planted grapes, blueberries and rhubarb.
“We put in what we like,” Judy says, “If it doesn’t work after two years, we attempt one thing else.”
To assist the Bonds’ substantial gardening behavior, their son constructed them a big, shingled backyard shed. There guests will discover seating and refreshments on Aug. 5.
For extra on the Open Backyard Days schedule, go to belfastgardenclub.org. Proceeds assist the backyard membership’s faculty applications, camp scholarships, library donations, and Belfast’s public gardens.
