After some uncertainty this spring, it’s with great pleasure that I tell you that the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival is opening on Friday, July 10th. In a normal year, we’d start with a kick-off party at Cape Cod Beer. You’d hear about all the businesses that are participating and you’d sample some of the cocktails created for the Hydrangea Fest Cocktail Trail. And you’d get a schedule that listed eighty or more gardens that would be open for touring Cape-wide. This is not a normal summer, however, so some of the in-person gatherings have been canceled or replaced with virtual events. 

But there are still some virtual and in-person opportunities to learn, and open gardens to tour on each of the ten days of the festival. My garden will be open on the 17th and 19th. I have personally visited many of the other gardens that are on tour and can truthfully say, “Go! See them all!” There is nothing more life-affirming than looking at flowers and plants, even in a time when you’ll need to wear a mask and be respectful about distances from others. 

To see the full schedule of events, go to the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival website. If you click on the days under the Garden Tour Schedule heading you’ll find descriptions of the gardens. Just below those, you can download and print the full schedule of events including the addresses of open gardens for each day.