Home and Garden Tours Around the Country EVERY year, spring brings with it the promise of new planting, home improvement projects and renovations. Those in search of inspiration can find it in the houses and gardens open to the public across the country. Most tours are self-guided, unless otherwise noted. Manhattan, May 5 A 1927 maisonette designed for an heir to the Ford fortune will be one of six sites on a tour to benefit the Junior League of New York. Tickets are $125, or $100 if purchased by May 3, and include lunch and a cocktail reception. Information: (212) 288-6220 or nyjl.org. Greenwich Village, May 6 The 14th annual tour to benefit the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation will include seven sites, among them the former studio of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Tickets are $175, or $150 in advance; for the tour and the reception that follows, they are $350, or $300 in advance. Information: (212) 475-9585 or gvshp.org/benefit. Brooklyn Heights, May 12 A tour of five homes includes an 1856 Renaissance Revival house and a converted carriage house. Tickets are $40; no children under 13. Information: (718) 858-9193 or thebha.org. Park Slope, Brooklyn, May 20 An 1882 Neo-Grecian brownstone is one of seven homes on the tour. Tickets are $25, or $20 in advance, and include a lecture at the Montauk Club after the tour. No children under 10 (except infants in front packs) and no backpacks. Information: (718) 832-8227 or parkslopeciviccouncil.org. Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, June 3 The tour includes eight houses. Tickets are $25, or $20 in advance; for an additional $10 fee, ticketholders may attend the Prospect Lefferts Gardens tour as well. No backpacks or children in strollers. Information: (718) 625-4073 or boerumhillassociation.org. Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, June 3 The 42nd annual tour includes nine homes and one garden, among them a 1909 neo-Renaissance limestone town house with intricate plaster moldings. Tickets are $25, or $20 in advance; for an additional $10 fee, ticketholders may attend the Boerum Hill tour as well. No children under 12, except infants in front packs. Information: (718) 284-6210 or leffertsmanor.org. Jackson Heights, Queens, June 9 and 10 A dozen block-long private gardens will be open from noon to 4 p.m. on June 9; there will also be a display of historic photographs and memorabilia, and a free lecture on the history of Jackson Heights at 10:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. On June 10, starting at noon, guided walking tours will be offered (tickets must be reserved or purchased in advance). Tickets are $10 for one day or $15 for both. Information: (718) 565-5344 or jhbg.org. Flatbush, Brooklyn, June 10 Six to eight houses will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $25, or $20 in advance. Information: (718) 859-3800 or fdconline.org. Mount Morris Park, Harlem, June 10 A penthouse overlooking Marcus Garvey Park and an 1890s brownstone are among the tour's 10 to 12 sites. Tickets are $30, or $25 in advance. Information: (212) 369-4241 or mmpcia.org. Staten Island, June 24 The tour includes four to six historic houses in the Hamilton Park section of New Brighton, a suburban community designed around 1860 by Charles K. Hamilton. Tickets are $25. Information: (718) 448-2006 or preservestatenisland.org. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Oct. 20 The 34th annual house tour supports scholarships for college-bound students from the Boys and Girls High School and Brooklyn Academy. Tickets are $20, or $15 in advance. Information: brownstonersofbedstuy.org. Larchmont Manor, May 19 Three houses, including an 1880s Queen Anne, will be on a tour sponsored by the Larchmont Historical Society. Tickets are $45, or $35 for members of the historical society; no children under 12. Information: (914) 381-2239 or larchmonthistory.org. Garrison, Cold Spring, Brewster, Carmel, Mahopac and Putnam Valley, June 9 The Putnam County Secret Garden Tour will include eight private gardens, as well as Stonecrop Gardens, in Cold Spring, and the gardens at the Boscobel House and Gardens, in Garrison. Tickets are $40, or $30 if purchased by June 7. For $125, or $90 in advance, the event will include an additional tour of two houses that were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright on Petra Island, in Mahopac (no children under 12 will be admitted to the Wright houses). Information: (845) 278-7272, extension 287, or putnamsecretgardentour.com. Poughkeepsie, May 9 and 20 On May 9, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Dutchess County Historical Society will sponsor a talk by John Pinna, an adjunct lecturer in history at Marist College, and a reception and tour of a restored 19th-century barn. On May 20, from 4 to 6 p.m., Andrew Lattimore, an artist from Cornwall on Hudson, will lead a similar program at a house filled with historic 19th- and 20th-century portraits. Tickets must be purchased in advance: the May 9 event is $35; the program on May 20 is $60. Information: (845) 471-1630 or dutchesscountyhistoricalsociety.org. Dutchess County, Oct. 13 The 24th annual Country Seats Tour will feature as many as a dozen historic farms. Information and tickets, to benefit Hudson River Heritage, will be available closer to the event: (845) 876-2474 or hudsonriverheritage.org. Palisades and Snedens Landing, May 12 Eight houses, including a 1924 Craftsman-style cottage overlooking the Hudson River, will be on a tour to benefit the Blue Rock School scholarship fund. Tickets are $40, or $35 in advance; no one under 18 will be allowed. Information: (845) 627-0234 or bluerockschool.org. Goshen, June 16 A Japanese-style garden and a lily garden are among the six gardens that will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event benefits St. James Episcopal Church. Tickets are $45, or $40 in advance. Information: (845) 294-6225 or stjamesgoshen.org. Warwick, July 14 The Warwick Historical Society's 1810 home will be one of six sites on a tour that will benefit Warwick Valley Gardeners. Tickets are $15. Information: warwickvalleygardeners.com. Southampton and Water Mill, May 12 A 1910 oceanfront house with a traditional shingled roof and bleached wood floors will be one of six houses on a tour to benefit the Southampton Historical Museum. Tickets are $90, or $75 in advance; no children under 12. Information: (631) 283-2494 or southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org. Centerport and Huntington Bay, May 23 Five homes, including a 1904 Queen Anne Victorian, will be on a tour to benefit the Family Service League of Long Island. Tickets are $60, or $55 in advance; lunch is $30, with reservations before May 16. No children under 12. Information: (631) 427-3700, extension 255, or fsl-li.org. Sea Cliff, June 9 Eight gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., including one on Seacliff Harbor and another with a pond and trellis-covered walkways; a garden tea party will be held from noon to 3:30 p.m. Information: (516) 671-1717 or seacliff-ny.gov. Southampton, June 9 and 10 Landscape Pleasures, an annual event to benefit the Parrish Art Museum, will present four landscape designers who have created gardens on the East End at a symposium from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 9; on June 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be a tour of several gardens in the area. Tickets for the two-day event are $200, or $150 for members. Information: (631) 283-2118, extension 42, or parrishart.org. Water Mill, July 22 to Sept. 2 The Hampton Designer Show House, to benefit Southampton Hospital, will be held in a traditional Shingle-style estate. Admission is $30; no children under 6. Information: (631) 745-0004 or hamptondesignershowhouse.com. Princeton, through May 20 Priory Court, a limestone house with a cloister, will be the site of a show house to benefit the Junior League of Greater Princeton. The house will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Fridays until 7 p.m. Tickets are $25, or $20 in advance; no children under 12. Information: (609) 771-0525 or jlgp.org. Saddle River, through June 10 A Tudor-style home on 10 acres will be the site of the Designer Show House of New Jersey, to benefit the Heart and Vascular Hospital and the Emergency Trauma Department at Hackensack University Medical Center. Tickets are $30; no children under 6. Information: (551) 996-3252 or thedsnj.com. Morristown, through May 31 Sixty designers will participate in a show house at Glynallyn Castle, to benefit the Inpatient Hospice and Palliative Care Center at Morristown Medical Center. The 40-room Tudor-style house, built in 1917, has 16 chimneys, a dungeon and originally had a moat. Tickets are $30, or $25 in advance (or for those 62 and older); no children under 12. Information: (973) 971-8800 or mansioninmay.org. Montclair, June 1 and 2 A landscaped property with several garden rooms, including a rose terrace, a boxwood garden and a croquet court, is one of at least seven gardens on the Roses to Rock Gardens tour. Tickets are $35, or $30 in advance. Information: (973) 744-4752 or vanvleck.org. Westfield and Summit, June 2 Five houses will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in a tour to benefit the Westfield Symphony Orchestra, with music by orchestra members at some of the gardens. Tickets are $35, or $30 in advance; no children under 12. Information: (908) 232-9400 or westfieldsymphony.org. Hoboken, June 3 The Hoboken Secret Garden Tour, to benefit the Hoboken Historical Museum, includes guided tours of 8 to 10 private gardens, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $25, or $20 in advance; children under 13 are free. Information: (201) 656-2240 or hobokenmuseum.org. Southport, Greenfield Hill and Westport, May 4 A 3,600-square-foot house on Long Island Sound with stainless steel roofing, cedar siding and wood and glass throughout is one of five homes on a tour to benefit Near & Far Aid, a group that supports more than 100 charities in Fairfield County. Tickets are $75, or $65 in advance. Information: (203) 259-1710 or nearandfaraid.org. Falls Village and Lakeville, Conn., and Millerton, N.Y., May 19 and 20 This event to benefit Women's Support Services will include an antiques and plant sale on May 19 and a tour of four gardens, including that of the designer Bunny Williams, on May 20. Tickets for the sale are $35; early-bird entry, at 8 a.m., is $100. Tickets for the tour are $70, or $60 in advance. Information: (860) 364-1080 or tradesecretsct.com. Greenwich, June 7 The Garden Education Center of Greenwich will sponsor a tour of five gardens. Tickets are $95, or $75 in advance. Information: (203) 869-9242 or gecgreenwich.org. Stamford, June 10 and 11 The Bartlett Arboretum gardens and five private sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $50, or $40 for members; lunch will be available for an additional $20. Information: (203) 322-6971 or bartlettarboretum.org. Boston, May 17 Twelve to 16 gardens will be on the annual Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill tour. Tickets are $40, or $30 in advance. Information: (617) 227-4392 or beaconhillgardenclub.org. Newton, June 3 Eight houses will be open from noon to 5 p.m., in a tour to benefit Historic Newton. Tickets are $35 ($25 for members), or $30 ($20 for members) if purchased by June 1; half-price tickets are available for new members. Information: (617) 796-1450 or historicnewton.org. Boston, June 16 Twenty private and community gardens will be on the South End Garden Tour, to benefit the South End/Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust. Information: (617) 437-0999 or southendgardentour.org. Providence, June 1 to 3 The Festival of Historic Houses sponsored by the Providence Preservation Society will begin with a candlelight tour on June 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $50. There will be two neighborhood house tours: the College Hill section, on June 2, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Jewelry District, on June 3, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $40 each, or $35 in advance; no children under 10. Admission to the events on all three days is $100. Information: (401) 831-7440 or ppsri.org. Newport, June 29 to July 1 A dozen gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as part of the annual Secret Gardens of Newport tour. Tickets for all three days are $20, or $15 in advance. Information: (401) 439-7253 or secretgardentours.org. Furlong, May 6 to June 3 The annual Bucks County Designer House and Gardens, to benefit Doylestown Hospital and the Village Improvement Association of Doylestown, will take place at Spring Valley Farm, an 1850s Dutch Colonial house at 3864 Spring Valley Road; 25 interior designers and 15 landscape designers are taking part. Tickets are $25, or $20 for seniors; no children under 10. Information: (215) 345-2191 or buckscountydesignerhouse.org. Philadelphia, May 20 Ten houses in the Society Hill area will be on a tour to benefit the Society Hill Civic Association. Tickets are $35, or $30 in advance, and include a discount at several local restaurants. Information: (215) 629-1288 or societyhillcivic.org. New Hope, June 2 Six private gardens in Bucks County will be open to the public. Tickets are $30. Information: (215) 862-5652 or newhopehs.org. Mount Gretna, Aug. 4 The annual tour to benefit Gretna Music features 10 to 12 summer cottages and homes built in this lakeside community since the early 1900s, including the Mount Gretna Inn, a three-story Arts and Crafts house. Information: (717) 361-1508 or gretnamusic.org. Wilmington, May 5 Sixteen private and public gardens will be featured on the 65th annual tour for Wilmington Garden Day, including the Goodstay Gardens, one of the oldest gardens in the state, created by Ellen Coleman du Pont in symmetrical rooms like a traditional colonial garden. Information: wilmingtongardenday.org. Baltimore and Four Counties, through May 20 The Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage began in Baltimore on April 28 and continues in St. Mary's County on May 5, in Talbot County on May 12, in Howard County on May 19 and in Anne Arundel County on May 20. Among the sites featured will be a 13-foot-wide 1850 row house in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore, and Oakdale, an 1838 home in Howard County with 23 rooms. Tickets are $35 for each day, or $30 in advance. Information: (410) 821-6933 or mhgp.org. Towson, through May 20 Eck House, a 25-room home in Cromwell Valley Park, will be the site of the 36th annual Decorators" Show House to benefit the educational programs of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Admission is $30. Information: (410) 783-8000 or bsomusic.org. Washington, D.C., May 5 A two-level garden centered on a multitrunk kousa dogwood and another garden with paths bordered by lavender and planted with white roses, a weeping pear tree and dwarf boxwoods will be on a tour of eight gardens sponsored by the Georgetown Garden Club. Tickets are $35. Information: (202) 965-1950 or georgetowngardentour.com. Takoma Park, Md., May 6 A dozen homes, from an 1887 Victorian to a modern bungalow, will be open for a tour in the North Takoma neighborhood, from 1 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20, or $18 in advance. Information: (301) 270-2831 or historictakoma.org. Hyattsville, Md., May 20 The 33rd annual house tour to benefit the Hyattsville Preservation Association will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $12, or $10 in advance. Information: (301) 699-5440 or preservehyattsville.org. Wolfeboro, July 11 Five houses and gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the 25th annual tour to benefit the Central New Hampshire V.N.A. and Hospice. Tickets are $40. Information: (603) 569-2729. Westminster, July 14 and 15 Five gardens, including the Hayward Garden, which has two 90-foot mixed borders, a woodland area and an herb garden, will be part of a tour on July 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and July 15, from noon to 3 p.m., to benefit Westminster Cares, a service organization for the elderly and disabled. Tickets are $15 for one person and $25 for two. Information: (802) 722-3607 or westminstercares.org. Spruce Head and Rockland, July 15 Seven gardens will be on the 21st annual Gardens in the Watershed tour. Tickets are $28, or $25 in advance; there is no charge for children under 12. Information: (207) 594-5166 or grlt.org. Camden and Rockport, July 19 The Camden Garden Club's 65th annual tour features seven gardens, most of which include house tours. Information: camdengardenclub.org. Mount Desert Island, July 28 A tour of six gardens is sponsored by the Garden Club of Mount Desert. Tickets are $40, or $35 if purchased before July 10. Information: (727) 515-1335 or gardenclubofmountdesert.com. Atlanta, through May 13 Knollwood, a 1929 house designed by Phillip Trammel Shutze, is the site of the Atlanta Decorators" Show House and Gardens, benefiting the educational programs of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Admission is $25; no children under 8. Information: (404) 733-5000 or decoratorsshowhouse.org. Atlanta, May 5 and 6 Nine sites are on this year's Georgia Perennial Plant Association tour, which will be held on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on May 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $20, and are good for both days; new members and those who renew their membership will receive a free ticket. Information: georgiaperennial.org. Louisville, Ky., July 7 and 8 The Old Louisville Hidden Treasures Garden Tour will feature 10 private gardens. Tickets are $15, or $12 in advance; there is no charge for children under 12. Information: (502) 635-5244 or oldlouisvillegardentour.com. Indianapolis, through May 13 The 51st annual St. Margaret's Hospital Guild Decorators" Show House and Gardens, to benefit Wishard Health Services, will take place in Tobias House at 5 East 71st Street, a 40-room home built in the 1930s and donated to the Indiana University Foundation in 2010 by Randall L. Tobias, the former chairman and president of Eli Lilly and Company. More than 50 interior and landscape designers will participate. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 (discount tickets are available for $17, at Marsh stores); children ages 3 to 12 are $5. Information: showhouseindy.com. Kansas City, Mo., through May 20 The 43rd annual Symphony Designers" Show House, to benefit the Kansas City Symphony, will be held in a 1909 English Tudor Revival house. Admission is $15. Information: (816) 968-9711 or showhouse.org. Downers Grove, Ill., July 14 Seven gardens are on a tour to benefit a program for formerly homeless families run by the First United Methodist Church. Information: (630) 968-7120 or dgfumc.org/gardenwalk. Chicago, July 21 and 22 The annual Sheffield Garden Walk, a festival of guided architectural tours, live music, food, activities for children and open gates at more than 80 neighborhood gardens, will benefit community organizations and projects, schools and the area beautification program sponsored by the Sheffield Neighborhood Association. The events will take place in the blocks around Sheffield Avenue North, from noon to 10:15 p.m.; gardens are open from noon to 5:30 p.m., and children's activities are from noon to 5:30 p.m. Admission is $7, or $10 after 3 p.m. Information: (773) 929-9255 or sheffieldgardenwalk.com. Marshall, Mich., Sept. 8 and 9 The annual Historic Home Tour includes admission to seven historic houses and to the three museums run by Historic Marshall (Honolulu House, Grand Army of the Republic Hall and Capitol Hill School), as well as several other museums, like the Walters Gasoline Museum and the Schragg Postal Museum. Tickets for the two-day event are $20, or $15 if purchased by Sept. Information: (269) 781-8544 or marshallhistoricalsociety.org. San Francisco, through May 28 A 1902 Classical Revival home with a double curved grand staircase will be the site of this year's Decorator Showcase, to benefit the San Francisco University High School scholarship program. Information: (415) 447-5830 or decoratorshowcase.org. Los Angeles, May 6 Four houses on a tour sponsored by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects include a three-level architect's home with Cor-Ten steel walls and a passive energy house with a solar thermal heater, a green roof and a photovoltaic array. Open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $85, or $75 in advance; A.I.A. members are $65. Information: (213) 639-0777 or aialosangeles.org. San Clemente, Calif., June 9 Six private gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a tour sponsored by the San Clemente Garden Club. Information: sanclementegardenclub.com. Denver, June 16 The 12th annual Gardens of Northwest Denver tour will include 20 sites, including urban farms, sculpture gardens and xeriscape gardens designed to reduce the need for irrigation or supplemental watering. The tour will be followed by a silent auction and an after-party. Tickets are $15; there is no charge for children under 12. Information: (303) 433-4983 or conflictcenter.org. Seattle, June 24 A garden tour of the Wallingford area of the city will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $15; children under 12 are free. Information: (206) 632-3165 or wallingford.org.