Bridge Gardens Opens For The Season On April 16

Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton will open on weekends starting Saturday, April 16.

Bridge Gardens covers five acres and consists of an Inner Garden and an Outer Garden. The Inner Garden features a large knot garden surrounded by beds of 180 different culinary, medicinal, ornamental and textile and dyeing herbs. In the Outer Garden, the favorite attraction is a collection of antique and modern roses. Bridge Gardens also contains animal topiaries, a lavender parterre, perennial beds and borders, a water garden, woodland paths, a hidden bamboo room, double hedgerows of privet with viewing ports, and specimen shrubs and trees.

The gardens will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. through the end of October. Visitors will receive free admission on opening weekend.

The gardens will also be open on Friday, April 22, in recognition of Earth Day. Beginning Memorial Day, and through Labor Day, the gardens will expand its open days to include Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

New this season, Garden Manager Rick Bogusch will host tours of the gardens on the first Saturday of each month, beginning May 7 at 11 a.m.

In addition to the monthly tours, educational programs will also be offered. First up will be “Vegetable Gardening 101” with Mr. Bogusch on Saturday, April 16. Other educational programs will include: “Rose Care 101” on May 21, “Vegetable Gardening for Summer Harvest” on June 25, an “Entomologist Talk” with Rebeckah Schultz of Ray Smith & Associates on July 16; and “Cooking with Herbs” with chef and cookbook author Sylvia Lehrer on August 20.

The 2011 season will also see the return of the outdoor sculpture exhibition. “Sculpture in the Garden: Uncommon Ground II,” curated by Cheryl Sokolow of C Fine Art will open on June 8, with a meet-the-artists reception planned on Saturday, July 23.

“An Evening of Wine & Roses” fundraising benefit is planned on June 18, featuring special guest B. Smith. The evening will also include live music with Jim Turner and a silent auction. Tickets are $125 per person.

The family-friendly “Fridays at Six” music series will return for its third year in July and August. Scheduled to perform this year are: the Charles Certain Duo on July 1 and August 5; the Bridgehampton School Marimba Band on July 8, 15 and 22; Alfredo Merat on July 29 and August 12; the Southampton String Ensemble on August 19 and 26; and Joe Hampton and the Kingpins on September 2.

Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton, managed by the Peconic Land Trust, was donated to the Trust in 2008 by Jim Kilpatric and Harry Neyens. Admission is $10 for adults or $20 for a four-person family. Seasonal memberships are also available. For more information, call 283-3195, email BridgeGardens@PeconicLandTrust.org or visit PeconicLandTrust.org.