Trade Secrets Gets Us Back Into the Garden

The beauty of visiting the gardens at Old Farm Nursery on Route 112 in Lakeville is that when you are struck by inspiration, as you inevitably will be, you can do something about it. The nursery, as its name indicates, is on the site of an old farm. But the barns and fields are now in the service of flora rather than fauna. From fully grown trees to little saplings, from conifers to crabapples and for the do-it-yourself gardener or the weekend showplace, Old Farm Nursery most likely has the exact specimen you need or want. Then there is the added attraction of garden furniture, statuary, ironwork, pergolas and columns. Now in its 11th year, Trade Secrets, the two-day benefit for Women’s Support Services, features a one-day sale of plants and garden antiques, and a next day of garden tours. Old Farm Nursery will be a vendor on Saturday, May 14, and also is one of the five gardens on the tour Sunday, May 15. All five of the gardens on the Trade Secrets tour have one feature in common. Variously referred to as kitchen gardens, or herb or cottage gardens, they are all purposeful spots to grow food. But not one of them will look like any of the others, which of course, is what makes garden tours so fascinating. If you happen to visit Old Farm Nursery before the event, chances are you will not see the kitchen garden. Tucked away off one side of the house, at first glance it looks like a beautiful lawn and flowers. With evenly placed beds in two rows of 10, the area is open and inviting. The local deer population is held at bay by perimeter fencing, which is somewhat screened by plantings, espaliered fruit trees and flower beds. The effect is of a private but airy little world. Judy Murphy and her husband, Pat, came to Lakeville in 1988 from West Virginia, where Pat grew up and generations of his family lived. They had a landscaping business there but were looking for something different. The couple was attracted to the landscape of the Berkshire hills (in part because the land was reminiscent of home). Judy treats her gardens as constant works in progress. She appreciates having the nursery at her disposal, though it wasn’t always that way. “It used to be I would only get the cast-offs, whatever was broken, or fell off the truck. Now I think, life is short and when I see a plant I love, I say, I need that plant, now!” She is constantly changing things around. “It’s a good laboratory, because I can try things out and see how they work. The good thing is, you can change things around; the bad thing is, you can become obsessed with it.” Well, that statement could probably be uttered by the majority of visitors to Trade Secrets; an event that has become synonymous with great gardens. Trade Secrets, the annual garden event, benefits Women Support Services. It has two components: the plant and garden accessories sale on Saturday, May 14, held at Lion Rock Farm on Rte. 41 in Sharon, and a tour of five local gardens on Sunday, May 15. For tour and ticket information go to tradesecretsct.com.

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