Written By Barbara Lombardo | Photos provided by garden owners
[From the 2026 Home & Garden Magazine]
A beautiful garden can come in any size, shape or combination of colors. But don’t take my word for it. Come see for yourself.
On Sunday, June 28,
nine private gardens will be open
for your enjoyment during the 31st Saratoga Soroptimist Secret Gardens Tour.
This year’s featured gardens include patio-sized getaways, oases hidden in city backyards, and three acres of winding paths just minutes from Saratoga Springs.
Some of the gardens have been maturing for thirty years, others for barely three. They promise a day of surprises and inspiration – all while raising money to improve the lives of women and girls.
The Secret Gardens Tour is the sole fundraiser for Soroptimist International of Saratoga County, the local branch of an international nonprofit service organization. Soroptimist means “best for women.” Members of the all-volunteer Saratoga Soroptimists facilitate classes at Wellspring, assisting victims of domestic violence obtain their legal and financial independence; and provide scholarships to women heads of household pursuing their career to improve their lives and that of their children.
For younger women, they run confidence-building programs for high school girls facing obstacles to success, and also provide scholarships to young women demonstrating extraordinary community service. One of Saratoga Soroptimists’ newest partners is the Moon Catcher Project, providing free menstrual supplies locally as well as reusable kits to girls in communities around the globe, so they need not miss school during menstruation.
All of this is possible thanks to generous garden owners who welcome people onto their properties for the Secret Gardens Tour.
Owners like Meg and Jim Dalton, who take great pleasure in sharing their labor of love.
They’ll be on the Middle Grove property throughout the day, eager to talk with visitors. “We both love talking to them,” says Meg. “We’ve met some really nice people and made some friends through the tour.”
The Daltons have made dramatic changes since their property was last featured on the tour, in 2019. Their three-acre garden unfolds along winding paths that invite exploration, with quiet places along the way to sit and enjoy the plants, the birds and the serenity. Large drifts of hydrangeas, both early and late bloomers, and viburnums guide your journey, while garden art, both large and small, is thoughtfully placed throughout the landscape.
At the Daltons’ entryway are handsome retaining walls with wide stone steps leading to formal gardens. Out back are Heritage River birch they planted after losing 20 large oak trees to spongy moth caterpillars and over-eager tree removers.
The property is a far cry from when they bought it, a house totally surrounded by woods. “No driveway, no nothing,” Meg says. They cleared dozens of trees, and potted and brought 400 plants from their prior home. That first spring, she adds, “as soon as we put a shovel in the ground, we realized it was all sand and rock. It was awful.”
Undaunted, over the years they enriched the soil and began making paths lined with rocks. “Every year we had a string and it would go further out and further,” she says, describing how the gardens kept expanding. They grew hundreds of hostas, creating more than a dozen hybrids that became registered with the American Hosta Society. The Daltons also love ferns for the grace and texture they add to the garden. Secret Gardens Tour visitors may be lucky enough to catch the Daltons’ stunning Itoh peonies in bloom. A cross between a tree and garden peony, Meg calls them “the best of both worlds -- they don’t flop.”
Meg and Jim are self-taught gardeners who’ve learned by trial and error. He likes to move things around, shake things up a bit, while she likes to plant and be done. “He starts on one end and I start at the other,” she says. While they do their own gardening, they’re making some adjustments as an acknowledgement of them each turning 80 this year. For instance, they’ll replace poor-performing perennials with less demanding hydrangeas or choose roses that need not be deadheaded. And they’ve added two patios from which they can enjoy the views they have created, including a pond with a gentle waterfall.
All the other gardens are on the Secret Gardens Tour for the very first time.
That includes another garden in rural Middle Grove, where Elizabeth and Scott Kopraski do their own planning, planting and maintenance -- with many Mother’s Day weekend landscaping projects undertaken with help from their two children and year-round horticultural expertise and plant divisions provided by Elizabeth’s sister. Focal points of their terraced garden include a glorious Japanese maple, a pergola over the stairs and a small pond. The shady front of their house boasts a grand pee gee hydrangea and a uniquely shaped dogwood tree; over the years, first day of school photos have captured just how much the plants and the children have grown.
The Kopraskis named a recent garden addition “Dockside.” It features a rowboat that belonged to Elizabeth’s grandfather alongside a very large heptacodium – also known as seven-son flower -- and whimsical décor of fish and aquatic-inspired features.
The other gardens on the self-guided tour, all in Saratoga Springs, illustrate how city lots can be turned into unique retreats.
Robin Soroka’s garden is a perfect example. Out front, a riot of color frames the sun-drenched 1870 Victorian cottage she purchased thirty years ago. But the garden gate to the backyard leads to a totally different landscape, with a graceful 100-year-old willow tree anchoring a serene setting of ferns, hydrangeas and other shade plants – especially hostas, in striking blues, greens and yellows.
“I love the blues and greens together,” she says. Robin has planted so many hostas, she’s lost track of their names. She says her participation on the Secret Gardens Tour would not have been possible without her 30-year relationship with Wynne Turnbridge of Shades of Green in Saratoga County’s Charlton and the support of special gardener friends.
Robin describes herself as an “accidental gardener,” who developed a distinctive style of her own shaped by observation, trial, editing and long-term attention rather than a fixed plan. Tucked throughout her backyard are sculptural pieces created with found and weathered stones and other objects by her friend Jack Metzger, an artist based in Cambridge. Metzger’s garden art will be for sale during the tour, with 10% of the proceeds to be donated to Soroptimist International of Saratoga County.
Some of Robin’s “extra” plants have become treasures in the lush garden of next-door neighbors Jennifer and Matt Hennessy, also on the tour. They devoted years to transforming a backyard initially crowded by a full-sized sand volleyball court and dominated by weeds. Today, with the house and a stately oak casting generous shade, the garden has becomes a study in contrast: cool, shade-loving plantings anchor the left side of the backyard, while the right opens onto a perennial haven drenched by afternoon sun.
The graceful, curved edging of the Hennessys’ backyard reflects Jennifer’s mother’s gifted eye and steadfast attention to detail. A forsythia grows from cuttings shared by her mother and stepfather. In fact, their most cherished elements are the many perennials that were sourced from or inspired by the gardens of Jennifer and Matt’s parents and other family members and friends over the years.
Similarly, every artifact in the highly personal garden of Shirley and Mike Davis has meaning. This includes stones in a walkway individually created by five daughters and five grandchildren. Out front, a flowering hibiscus tree is a memorial to a favorite dog who passed away. Like other gardeners on this year’s tour, Shirley’s approach is trial-and-error combined with whatever tickles her fancy. Expect to find blasts of color and hanging pots galore, on the porch, hanging from shepherd hooks and even dangling from some trees. Perennials, annuals, ground cover, and hardscapes are incorporated into a one-of-a-kind palette.
Expect the unexpected in the shady playground of a backyard created by Soroptimist member Heather Hart and husband Darin Hart. Part of the appeal of the in-town home they purchased in 2013 was its unusually large lot of almost three-quarters of an acre. But most of it had gone wild. So they cut down more than 200 saplings and started creating. Every rock in the yard was placed by the Harts -- all five family members got in on the heavy lifting. They built pathways and rock features, creating a subtle structure that guides visitors around the yard, where they will find a variety of low-light plants such as hostas, ferns, creeping phlox, hydrangeas and an array of annuals, based on what tempts Heather that year.
Don’t miss the “She Shed” the Harts built using nearly all 43 windows from the original house, a project they called an adventure in geometry. A favorite hangout for family and friends is their lawn-less “lower lawn,” with a bocce court in summer and a skating rink in winter. Last year they added a “pergo-bed” -- part pergola, part garden rest area, and a way to use antique garden gates gifted by a dear friend. And remember to say hello to the chickens that Heather says are spoiled rotten in their “bougie” coop.
A short walk around the corner is the sweet jewel of a house that Marge Glowa moved into four years ago. A colorful trellis over a birdbath commands attention, but other features are worth seeking out: Look for tiny bright “bee baths” and scattered rocks from the now-closed Petrified Sea Gardens, a historic local landmark known for its 500-million-year-old Cambrian-era stromatolite fossils.
Over the course of the growing seasons, Marge’s garden is bursting with color from dahlias, cannas and Asiatic lilies that get wintered over in the basement, bell flowers, a butterfly bush, Ascot rainbow spurge, some Japanese forest grass and many varieties of iris. If rabbits inundate your yard, check out Marge’s fencing. Last August, she and her teenage neighbor worked side by side, digging trenches for the chicken wire that protects flowers and vegetables from hungry critters.
A few minutes’ drive toward the eastern end of Saratoga Springs are compact gardens tucked behind homes on a new suburban street in a development right off Route 9P, the road to Saratoga Lake. Two of those gardens are on the Secret Gardens Tour.
Kerry and Jim Morris, seeking to shield their backyard deck from the road, had a berm built that would support a dozen or more arborvitaes. But you know how one thing leads to another. Next came a few large accent stones in keeping with their neighbors’ yards. Then they realized the steep, mulched berm needed to be softened with color, texture, movement and a bit of whimsy. Wanting something manageable, they planted spring bulbs and added a selection of perennials and annuals that would provide color over the summer and into the fall season. And of course the side of the house and front patio then needed attention, too. They’ve created a lovely outdoor space, always a work in progress, to enjoy with friends and neighbors.
A few houses down is the home of Barbara Bouchey, who loves creating beautiful environments. A previous home she designed earned her a Saratoga Showcase of Homes award for landscaping. Her goal in building this new home in 2023 was to create an elegant, warm and inviting sanctuary, both inside and outside. Visitors approach Barbara’s backyard along a charming path of stones, colorful plants and flowers and enter through an adorable archway adorned with a flowering trellis. The backyard opens up to an array of carefully arranged landscaping with a European-style fountain at its center. Listen for the soft, soothing sound of water as it trickles from brass spouts.
A dark brown fence built inside Barbara’s property line provides privacy from Route 9P, while a puppy guard on the bottom keeps her Shih-Poo, Bella, from wandering. With intention and attention to detail, Barbara has transformed her outdoor space into a tranquil oasis to be shared with others.
The Secret Gardens Tour is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 28, rain or shine.
Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 on the day of the tour.
The Secret Gardens Tour program contains descriptions of each garden, a map, and suggested driving directions. Tickets purchased online at soroptimistsaratoga.org include a downloadable version of the program. Advance printed ticket/programs may be purchased at Cudney’s Dry Cleaners locations, Adirondack Trust Co. branches, Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs and Faddegon’s Nursery in Latham. (Call ahead to confirm availability.) On the day of the tour, ticket/programs can be purchased from 9:30 a.m. to Noon outside the Saratoga Heritage Area Visitor Center and all day online (along with downloadable program). Email questions to
