CAPE COD TIMES – Just when you were thinking that Cape Cod may be mono-colored, all blue ocean to the horizon, along comes a summer explosion of color, as beautiful garden landscapes and spectacular blooms are on view during the 10th annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, July 5-14, at locations all the way from Falmouth to the Outer Cape.
It’s as if a crazy painter is splashing lavish color all over the garden landscape, dripping over fences, spilling onto the lanes and byways. It’s hydrangea time, with cascades of crimson, purple, royal blue, lavender and fuchsia blooming everywhere.
The annual garden celebration boasts an abundance of everything hydrangea fans might wish for, from hydrangea talks, classes, art events and workshops, promotions at area nurseries, book signings, parties and soirees, to popular walking tours that offer a one-time chance to see past the garden gate and stroll through a host of private home gardens across Cape Cod.
Tour hidden gardens ripe with hydrangea
Discovering hidden garden delights across the Cape is a highlight of the yearly festival. This year, 100 sensational private gardens ― the most ever — open their gates to visitors on specified days, all described at the festival website (CapeCodHydrangeaFest.com). Each location pairs with a nonprofit that receives 100% of the admission proceeds ($5 per garden per visitor). This year, several local food pantries are among the 30 groups that benefit from the tours.
Garden tours cover a multitude of different landscapes. Among them:
A 40-year-old home in Barnstable offers stands of color from a host of flowering plants that grow alongside heirloom hydrangeas.
Terraced plantings and rock gardens, along with breathtaking views of Pilgrim Lake, enhance the walk at a 1790 farmhouse in Orleans.
In Yarmouth Port, hydrangea experts Mal and Mary Kay Condon show off new varieties of hydrangeas, growing next to raised vegetable and rhubarb beds.
Edible and native plants maximize space in a half-acre lot in East Falmouth, a chance to see the growth of a new garden landscape.
During tours at her condo garden in West Yarmouth, hydrangea expert Linda Coven offers talks (11 a.m. and 2 p.m.) on creating “Pot-in-Pot” container gardens that feature a centerpiece of hydrangea plants.
Advice from gardening expert C.L. Fornari
Well-known Cape Cod gardening expert C.L. Fornari, whose local “GardenLine” radio show reaches a wide Cape audience, suggests that visitors engage with the gardener/owners during tours, and ask lots of questions about plants with which the visitors are unfamiliar. The tours, she said, “are ideal for generating ideas about what can be done in your own backyard.”
The festival draws fans from all corners of the world. Fornari noted that she’s hosted visitors at her Sandwich garden from Australia, UK, Ireland, Japan, Beijing (China), and all over the United States.
Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden at Heritage Museums & Gardens
Masses of blooms greet aficionados in two abundant hydrangea gardens at the 100-acre Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden shows off a collection of more than 155 different varieties, many grown nowhere else. The North American Test Garden shows off 240 of the newest hydrangea varieties, tested and evaluated under the watchful eye of Mal Condon, curator of hydrangeas at Heritage.
Nature’s colorful show inspires art
Hands-on art offers ways to see nature in new ways. Festivalgoers can learn the finer points of close-up hydrangea photography during a Photo Walk with fine art photographer Dave Mullen (July 8), or transform traditional images into art with photographer Bob Wheaton (July 10). There are painting workshops with Karen Shortsleeve (July 9) or Sissi Sneve-Schultze (July 13); all are affiliated with the Cape Cod Art Center in Barnstable.
The Sandwich Arts Alliance offers a two-session class to create a terra cotta flowerpot (July 8, 12) and a mixed media hydrangea workshop with Jacqui Hawk (July 13).
Artist Jenny Faw hosts a freestyle watercolor workshop with a floral theme at her home, located within the Cape Cod National Seashore at Little Creek Farm, Eastham (July 6).
Those inclined to stroll may choose a flower-filled walk in the Yasuna Denny sculpture garden at Cape Cod Museum of Art (July 12). On July 13, step it up at a Hydrangea Art Soiree at the Cape Cod Art Center, with entertainment, refreshments and a painting demo.
Good weather, great blooms
Festival planners are grinning from ear-to-ear at weather forecasts for the festival, unlike the 2023 season, when flowering plants suffered widespread injury as a result of extreme January cold. “This is going to be a fantastic year for hydrangea blooms!” declared Fornari. Last year’s rainy summer and the recent mild winter have encouraged even the blooms that “aren’t very bud-hardy, (so they’ll) be flowering this year.”
What you need to know for hydrangea fest
The 10th annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival runs July 5-14 at venues throughout Cape Cod. Details of all events and garden tours, including dates and times, are online at CapeCodHydrangeaFest.com.
By Barbara Clark, contributing writer
