Secret Gardens of Cambridge June 22, 2008

The Eighth Open-Gardens Day, sponsored by the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library, will be held on Sunday, June 22, from 10am to 4pm. This self-guided tour includes access to nineteen hidden private gardens, special green space and historic locations throughout the city.

Tickets are $20 per person in advance and $25 on the day of the event (supply is limited). Members of the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library receive a $5 discount per ticket. Tickets are now available by mail. Checks should be made out to the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library and mailed to the library at 359 Broadway, Cambridge MA 02139, ATT: Secret Gardens. Please include a $3.00 processing fee per mail order. For ticket details call the Cambridge Public Library at 617-349-4029 or TTY 617-349-4421 after April 15, 2008.

Tickets will be available in person starting May 15 at all seven Cambridge Public Libraries and the following select business:

* Clothware, 52 Brattle St.
* Nomad, 1741 Mass. Ave.
* Porter Square Books, Porter Square Shopping Center
* Rodney's Bookstore, 698 Mass. Ave.
* Bonney's Garden Center, 41 Bay State Rd.

On the day of the event, Sunday, June 22, tickets will only be sold at the five business listed above and the Boudreau Branch Library, 245 Concord Ave., in addition to the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House, Cambridge Historical Society, 159 Brattle St.

The Secret Gardens day is a much-anticipated event that reveals the diversity of Cambridge neighborhoods. Like the city itself, the gardens are highly individual, ranging from small, reclaimed garden spaces to large, historic residences that offer a wide range of horticultural and architectural interest as well as new surprises. Featured gardens include the restored grounds at Longfellow House, and viewing the historic Glass Flowers collection at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Current and future gardeners will be inspired by their neighbors' creative ideas and discover the secrets of these hidden gardens. Don't miss this wonderful day!

Proceeds from the Secret Gardens tour are used to sponsor educational programs such as museum passes for library patrons, a summer reading club for young adults, special events with noted writers and illustrators, and to expand the library's audiovisual collections.

Official Website: http://www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/~CPL/friends/gardens.htm