Open Gardens 2026
Discover beauty in local gardens in the summer of 2026.
See our neighbors’ gardens at their peak. All the gardens are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. A donation of $5 is suggested (checks or exact change is appreciated). Season passes are available to purchase at each site. Please, no dogs.
Saturday, June 27
Suzanne Ramczyk
17 Sunrise Ridge Road, Belfast
Sited on one of the highest points in Belfast, Suzanne’s house and garden look out on open sky, woodland, and meadow. Flowering perennials cascade over stone borders, and flowering shrubs and specimen trees punctuate the garden. A pergola, rebuilt in 2025, supports beds of perennials, herbs, and climbing vines. Sitting in the tea house that was once a garden shed, visitors can enjoy a private oasis within a grand, natural setting.
Saturday, July 11
Christine Solet, 22 Bridge Street and Whitney McCarthy, 37 Bridge Street, Belfast
Christine Solet’s garden on Bridge Street fills a dramatically steep hillside. This difficult-to-work space provides blooms and color throughout the seasons. The view from the home’s porch takes in viburnums, Kolkwitzia, and hydrangeas, all providing habitat for many species of birds. Christine is always exploring ways to expand, improve, and add beauty and interest to this lovely garden in town.
Just down the street, Whitney McCarthy’s multi-layer garden sits above Belfast Harbor, offering beautiful views and several lovely garden spaces that create “rooms” for the visitor to pass through. On a varying slope, Whitney has thoughtfully arranged the gardens on the perimeter of the large open space and throughout the interior, whether in full sun, full shade, or something in between.
Saturday, July 18
Brit Ziegler and Phil Jacks
148 Head of Tide Road, Belfast
The colors in this garden cause passersby to slow down and look more closely. The Civil War-era house rises above foundational plantings chosen with thought and care, enhanced by vegetables mixed into the beds. A small cadre of chickens and cats roam about in the cozy spaces created by full perennial beds, natural borders, and large trees. A whimsical frog pond pulls visitors into the stone patio area secluded from the road by distance and layers of trees, shrubs, and perennials. In 2025, the owners added a solar shed to the site to improve energy efficiency and provide storage space.
Saturday, July 25
Abbie Read
64 Appleton Ridge Road, Union
Atop the ridge of Appleton Ridge Road and among open blueberry barrens, Abbie Read’s garden is chockful of perennials artistically woven together for beauty and function. Her studio garden provides a place to both bask in, and shelter from, the sun, with simple plants intended to deter deer. The fenced house gardens are full of vegetables, flowers, and art. Abbie’s landscape design background shows in the compilation and utility of the plants in all the gardens, as well as in the long border garden that unites them. Abbie’s book arts studio will be open to visitors.
Saturday, August 1
Suzann Gerow
786 Lincolnville Road, Lincolnville
In summer, drivers on this busy road immediately notice the trees, flowering shrubs, and colorful perennial gardens on Suzann’s property, but the real treasure lies beyond, in the back of the house. Here, using the techniques she learned in Master Gardener training, Suzann has woven vegetables, fruits, and flowers to create a beautiful compact landscape. Grape vines, prolific berries, and new apples provide an abundance of crops in a small space, helping to fill her table throughout the winter.
Saturday, August 8
Allen Insurance Agency
94 High Street, Belfast
Anna Strickland
66 Church Street, Belfast
The stunning gardens that surround this insurance agency are the work of Heather Frey of Dragonfly Gardening and Beneficials. These gardens display a beautiful combination of shrubs, perennials, and annuals that provide bloom and color from spring until late fall. The choice of interesting annuals in the front containers adds a touch of whimsy that summer visitors and residents alike can see from the downtown street.
Around the corner on Church Street, Anna Strickland’s garden is a hidden gem made up of several spaces encircling the house. Bordered by stone paths and gravel walkways that lead visitors from one floral experience to another, this lush garden pulls visitors in to explore perennials, herbs, and lush dahlias all packed into a quarter of an acre.
Saturday, August 15
Belfast CoHousing and EcoVillage
25 Village Road, Belfast
For more than a decade, this community of people who share communal ethics and spirit have lived and gardened in Belfast. The plantings added to the 41+ acre property have matured into a beautiful landscape. Many residents have planted their own gardens as well as utilizing the community gardens and greenhouse. Conservation practices, recycling, composting, and green lifestyle choices are part of the landscape. Walking the public pathways, visitors learn of the many ways to garden, as well as how well the plants create the environment. Some of the private gardens will be open for viewing and the history of the land and community will also be available. Vegetable and herb gardens sit alongside perennial beds, fruit trees, and a wide-open landscape.
Saturday, August 22
Greg Larson
17 Tuva Trail, Lincolnville
Greg Larson
17 Tuva Trail, Lincolnville
This lovely space tucked into a woodland area in Lincolnville boasts an abundance of specimen trees. Greg says his fascination with what trees can do and with their diversity and longevity in the landscape inspired his “mini arboretum.” The wandering beds resemble a mixed tree and shrub border underlain with perennials, annuals, and vegetable beds. Woody plants range from two feet to 70 feet, and spread throughout the 1+ acre woodland bordered by a small pond.
