Discovering a hidden landscaped treasure, a surprising spot of beauty in bloom—it’s a fantasy made real in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s childhood classic, The Secret Garden. For the past seven years, Annapolis’s Secret Garden Tour, organized by the Hammond-Harwood House, treats the public to a rare glimpse of more than a dozen private gardens throughout the historic district—at the peak of the blooming season. We’ve selected four of the most unique and charming spaces, from formal parterre gardens to small patio retreats.

English Cottage Garden Chase-Lloyd House
The Chase-Lloyd House, built in 1769 and currently a home for elderly women, has one of the tour’s largest gardens and dates from the 1930s. Eric Hansen, caretaker of the English cottage-style garden, describes the layout as “informal and somewhat eclectic, with more formal elements, such as a boxwood allée, mixed in.”

The centerpiece of the garden is the massive magnolia grandiflora that towers in the center of the space, divided into the main perennial garden in the back and the rose garden in the front. Perhaps its best-known feature is the hyacinth bean vine, which blooms in a burst of purple along the white picket fence each summer. “The appeal of this garden is the discovery of something wonderful set amidst everyday mediocrity,” says Hansen. “It’s a blessing, a whisper from the divine, and a reminder that beauty very possibly remains to be discovered, hidden away where we least expect it.”

Petite Retreat King George St.

“We have tried to bring a sense of joy into the garden by the use of many colorful spring and summer annuals and perennials,” explains owner Kathryn Libby, whose home was the summer kitchen to the Chase-Lloyd House.

This petite front-pocket garden bursts with a miniature weeping cherry, dogwood, and espaliered apple trees, while the English roses, peonies, daylilies, columbine, and wild orchids bring varied color and texture to the space, made even more enchanting by the white colonial gate. “While living in the historic downtown district is wonderful,” explains Libby, “there is great pleasure in being able to escape to a quieter place for simply reading or praying without the distractions of traffic noise and the chatter of passersby.”

Bachelor’s Patio Prince George St.

This English garden, said to be the first subdivision of the Hammond-Harwood House gardens, has a New Orleans twist to it, being perhaps the only one in town lighted by gas lamps. “I like the idea of gas lights,” says Mike Ashford, the owner of McGarvey’s Saloon. “When I was an airline captain, I flew into a ton of places with them, and the light makes me look like I’m about twenty-nine.”

Made private by the surrounding brick garden walls, the garden displays an English lion’s head fountain and fish pond along the back wall. Plantings include a huge magnolia and two ornamental Bradford pear trees, as well as hostas, pachysandra, and New Guinea impatiens. Along the tops of several columns, he displays small containers filled with cascading petunias, dahlias, marigolds, vinca, and red geraniums.

On Sundays, the bachelor takes four newspapers into the garden for a relaxing afternoon of reading and repose, accompanied by his yellow Labrador retriever, Buck, with a great view of his lawn art, a cream-colored English Morgan roadster. “It feels good to get into the solitude of the garden,” says Ashford. “It’s right in the middle of town, but it’s very, very private. There seems to be something more intensely private about it when you can hear the hustle and bustle of the town in the background of this secret space with music, flowers, my dog—and, if I’m lucky, a lady.”

Small Wonder Cumberland Court

Louise Hayman transformed her walled backyard into a miniature courtyard paradise. After moving in, a housewarming gift—a consultation with a landscape designer—prompted the plot’s labor-intensive makeover. “Clearing the site with wheelbarrows, since nothing larger could gain access, was a major headache and expense,” says Hayman. Four years later, the 26-by-14-foot space is made enchanting with traditional plants of her childhood: magnolia grandiflora and English boxwood. Other plantings include clematis, lacecap hydrangeas, unusual tree-form acuba, and liriope. To add more brightness to her very shady garden, Hayman adds masses of white impatiens every year.

This secret garden has a special focal point: a fountain of a little girl holding a basket. Hayman named the statue Edith after her late stepmother, who inspired in her a lasting appreciation for gardening. Hayman frequently uses her patio garden for drinks before dinner and, mosquitoes permitting, for summer suppers. “Its size is so small that it’s cozy. And it’s very relaxing to have a
garden that’s attractive to birds—even the occasional possum.”

2007 Tour Info

The eighth annual Secret Garden Tour is on June 3, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It features gardens on Duke of Gloucester, Charles, Conduit, Market, and Green streets. Drinks and light snacks are available at the Hammond-Harwood House garden. Tickets, $25 in advance; $30 that day. For information, call 410-263-4683 or visit http://www.hammondharwoodhouse.org.