Swift River Farm

When Bruce and Gus acquired this 87-acre property in north central Massachusetts in 1998, there wasn't even the hint of a garden to be seen. Over the next few years, an orchard of heirloom apple varieties was planted, stone walls built, and the first of several perennial gardens was installed. A woodland garden filled with spring ephemerals, epimediums, hellebores, mukdenia, hostas, and small flowering trees and shrubs now stretches from the front of the house down along the north side of the property to a bed of tree peonies. There is also a large rock garden, a spring garden with primulas, and spring bulbs. In 2010, Gordon Hayward created a master plan designed to unite the gardens, adding a water garden, a large pollinator meadow garden, an oak walk, and gravel paths allowing easy access between different areas. Since 2012 Helen O'Donnell, garden designer and plantswoman extraordinaire, has been consulting on planting design and new garden projects.

Open Days 2024:  Saturday, May 11
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.