Margaret Roach Open Garden & Broken Arrow Plant Sale

This event will benefit two local nonprofits, Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program and Turtle Tree Seed at Camphill VIllage.

This is one of many events that are part of The Workshop Experience Weekend, May 10-11, 2025.

The garden, more than 35 years old, reflects my obsession with plants, particularly those with good foliage or of interest to wildlife, and also my belief that even in Zone 6A the view out the window can be compelling and satisfying all 365 days of the year. Nearly 70 kinds of birds are my familiar companions, along with every local frog and toad species, and we are all happy together. Informal mixed borders, shrubberies, frog-filled water gardens, and container groupings cover the steep 2.3-acre hillside. It's a former orchard with a simple Victorian-era farmhouse and little outbuildings in Copake Falls, NY, set in Taconic State Park lands on a rural farm road.

Proceeds from open garden tickets will be donated to Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program, fostering informed, active compassion for the ecological and cultural landscape of Columbia County, NY, through participatory research, and Turtle Tree Seed, a nonprofit biodynamic seed company at Camphill Village in Copake, NY, a life-sharing community for adults with developmental differences.

Important: Tickets are timed in 2-hour increments (10-noon, noon-2, 2-4) to help with traffic flow; you are welcome at any time in that 2-hour window. Directions and parking information will be provided with your ticket order confirmation. Rain or shine.

Does your garden crave something extra-special? Adam Wheeler and Broken Arrow Nursery at your service! Adam will arrive with a truck full of goodies, or you can call ahead for help/garden advice from April 1 onward, (203) 288-1026 (email earlier inquiries to c2FsZXMgfCBicm9rZW5hcnJvd251cnNlcnkgISBjb20=). They’ll put your purchase on the truck for pickup at Margaret’s garden if you order by Wednesday, May 7. Browse their website.

The exceptional garden of Peter Bevacqua and Stephen King in Claverack, NY, will be open the same hours. Why not order a ticket for that one, too? It's here. (And there are other garden-geared events at the link below on the Workshop Experience website to make a day of it.)

This is one of many events that are part of The Workshop Experience Weekend, May 10-11, 2025, in and around Hillsdale, NY. Join us to learn from experts in crafting, writing, cooking, nature, gardening and more. Browse the entire program, or visit TheWorkshopExperience.org.

Also check out other Workshops in Copake Falls, Nonprofit events in Copake Falls.