All Over Albany

Hidden City House & Garden Tour 2014

The annual Hidden City House & Garden Tour in Albany's Center Square neighborhood is returning June 26. Tickets are $15 if purchased between now and June 19 -- $20 after that.

The self-guided tour, organized by the Center Square Association and the Historic Albany Foundation, allows people to get a peek at some of the historic homes and gardens in Center Square (you probably couldn't have guessed that from the name). This year's tour also has a new angle: birds. Event blurbage:

In addition to the traditional house and garden tour, some host houses will pledge to maintain native plants, eliminate artificial fertilizers, and provide food and cover for wild birds. Demonstration sites along the tour route, run by Audubon Society Fellow, Laura McCarthy, will showcase the joy of urban birding and backyard birds.

Other highlights of the tours include a charming garden on Jay Street that features a specimen tree peony, climbing roses, a pergola with a heritage hops vine, and many other plants. A mature garden on Lancaster Street boasts a fountain, climbing roses, and old magnolia trees bearing scars of a former wisteria vine.

The tour is Thursday, June 26 from 5-8 pm. Tickets are available online via the link above.

Saratoga Secret Garden Tour
The annual Secret Garden Tour in Saratoga Springs is July 13 this year. Organized by Soroptimist International of Saratoga County, the tour offers a peek at "creative urban spaces, lush suburban gardens, fabulous water features, and more."

The tour is Sunday, July 13 from 11 am-5 pm. Tickets are $20 and available at the link above. If tickets still remain on the day of the tour, they'll be $25.

HAF advertises on AOA.

photo: Center Square Assocation