Three Decades of Garden Magic: Celebrating Garden Conservancy Open Days

December 2024

In 2025, the Garden Conservancy Open Days™ program celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, offering thousands of visitors a chance to experience some of the most creative and inspiring private gardens across the United States each year.

Started by Garden Conservancy Director Emerita Page Dickey and her friend and fellow gardener Pepe Maynard, the program began in 1995 with 110 gardens opening to visitors in New York and Connecticut. Over the years, the program has grown and expanded, both geographically and in its educational scope. In 1997, the program went national, moving beyond the eastern seaboard and across the country.

Our educational offerings have diversified to reflect the deep connection among gardeners and the desire to change and evolve.

Open Days expanded beyond self-guided visits into the more structured Digging Deeper and Garden Masters Series events for gardeners of every interest and stripe to learn more about the horticultural world.

The program’s success is a testament to the passion and generosity of gardeners. Since 1995, we have showcased more than 4,500 gardens in some forty states (as well as the District of Columbia and British Columbia) and welcomed over 1.5 million visitors—with the 2024 Open Days season seeing over 37,000 visitors alone! The generosity and enthusiasm of thousands of garden hosts, regional ambassadors, volunteers, nonprofit partners, and public garden partners have made all of this possible. They have helped create a vibrant community of people sharing ideas and expertise, learning from each other, and fostering a shared love of nature, art, design, and horticulture.

Much has changed in the world over thirty years, but what has not changed is the human desire to learn and explore; to discover and create community; and to do our part to make the world a better, more hospitable, and healthier place. Now more than ever before—and especially in the wake of a pandemic during which gardening became a coping mechanism— there is a global understanding that gardening indeed can help change the world.  We are planning a 2025 Open Days season befitting this momentous anniversary and we are excited to share a wonderful and diverse array of gardens across the country with our visitors this season.