The Mt. Blue Area Garden Club invites the public to tour the gardens of Laura Bogardus and Thomas Sorensen on Tuesday, August 18, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at 132 Morrison Hill Road, Farmington. This is the final stop in the club’s summer garden tour series and, like all the tours, is free and open to the public.

Members and guests are invited to spend a summer evening exploring a remarkable landscape that has evolved over the past five years into an ambitious blend of ornamental gardens, productive vegetable beds, meadows, and woodland paths.

Both Laura and Tom bring extensive horticultural experience to their property. Laura is a certified landscape designer, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Plant and Soil Science and Sustainable Agriculture, and has worked in both fine gardening and commercial vegetable production. Tom has designed landscapes for numerous new homes and, as an artist, has embraced gardening as “a new palette” for creative expression. Together, they serve as Natural Resource Stewards through the University of New Hampshire Extension and share a deep appreciation for the natural world.

Their Maine journey began in 2022 when they purchased Laura’s childhood home from her mother’s estate. The property already featured an established vegetable garden and scattered flower beds, but the couple quickly recognized its extraordinary potential.

“We knew right away we had a property where we could have multiple gardens,” Laura recalls.

They began by transplanting countless divisions of favorite plants from their previous home in New Hampshire, discovering that Maine’s fertile soil rewarded them almost immediately. “Within the first year, our plants doubled in size due to the fertility of the land,” Tom says.

Each season has brought new additions. A shade garden and flowering hedges were followed by winding paths through open fields, expanded ornamental borders, additional garden rooms, and a larger vegetable garden in one of the property’s sunniest locations.

Today, visitors will find gardens designed to encourage exploration, with each path inviting them to pause, enjoy a view, or discover what lies around the next bend.

“Our aspiration is to create European Renaissance-inspired gardens that make use of the property’s generous open spaces while blending native plants with ornamental and hybridized varieties,” Tom says.

Tom designs and builds the pathways, maintains the meadows, lawns, and trees, and thoughtfully frames vistas that invite visitors to pause and take in the scenery. Laura oversees the flowers and vegetable gardens while managing the planning and record-keeping that supports the property’s continued evolution.

For Laura and Tom, the gardens are less a finished masterpiece than an ever-evolving canvas. Their vision includes expanding the woodland trails and, someday, creating an off-grid retreat where others can enjoy the landscape they continue to shape.

Plan to arrive at 5:30 p.m. to mingle with fellow gardening enthusiasts and enjoy complimentary refreshments before the guided tour begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. Be sure to dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes as the tour includes exploring outdoor gardens and pathways. Attendees may wish to bring a folding chair for the introductory portion of the program. Note also that parking is limited in the shared driveway, so carpooling is encouraged.

Guests and members are also invited to participate in MBAGC’s optional summer plant swap tradition. Those wishing to participate are encouraged to bring a responsibly propagated plant, rooted division, or seedling from their own garden to exchange with fellow attendees. Plants should be healthy, free of invasive species, and never collected from wild native plant populations or sensitive habitats. The swap is entirely optional, and everyone is welcome to browse, ask questions, and enjoy sharing gardening knowledge.

All community members interested in gardening, sustainability, and beautiful landscapes are encouraged to attend. For more information about this and other events, visit www.mtbluegardenclub.org or email [email protected].