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Rhododendron Gardens

The grounds of Heritage Museums & Gardens feature thousands of rhododendron shrubs which burst into bloom during the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June. Charles Owen Dexter, a man of varied interests who became famous for hybridizing and propagating rhododendrons, lived on the property that later became Heritage Museums & Gardens between 1921 and 1943. His plant breeding goals were hardiness, clear bright colors, fragrance and big blossoms. Today his plants are well known for having large showy flowers. His cultivars can be seen in the Dexter Display Garden near the Art Museum.

Another collection of unique rhododendron cultivars are the work of Jack Cowles, who lived and worked on the Dexter Estate from 1957 to 1967. He was the horticulturist for Stanley Burns, owner of the property. His main goals were to propagate Dexter Rhododendrons and to develop and build a hybridizing program based on the Dexter material. The Jack Cowles Rhododendron Garden is located near the J.K. Lilly III Automobile Museum and features forty different plants. These plants were donated to the museum by the Sandwich Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.

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Daylily Gardens

Heritage Museums & Gardens features over 1,200 blooming varieties of daylilies. The peak bloom times for these gorgeous flowers are in July and August. The colors of the blooms include yellow, gold, cream, red and pink. Although originally used for food, daylilies are used today primarily as a beautiful flowering perennial to add to any landscape. The plants in these gardens have been donated by the American Hemerocallis Society, the New England Daylily Society and Dick & Joan Blagborough.

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Herb Garden

Heritage Museums & Gardens features a beautiful fenced herb garden behind the eighteenth century homestead located on the property. The herbs in this garden are an eclectic mix of plants whose leaves, stems, roots, flowers or seeds are used in foods, medicines, scents and decoration. Herbs are popular today because of increased interest in the use of natural products, the current passion for cooking and the decorative qualities these plants add to a landscape. There are plants of interest in the Herb Garden from spring through fall.

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Hosta Garden

The beautiful, shady hosta garden at Heritage Museums & Gardens offers an oasis on the hottest days of summer. Currently featuring 136 cultivars of this popular plant, the garden showcases the lovely green, white, yellow and blue tones of this hardy perennial. Most of the plants in this garden were donated to the museum by Carl Calderara and the New England Hosta Society. Hostas are at their best spring through the fall.

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Heather Garden

Presently the museum’s Heather Garden contains 62 varieties of heaths and heathers. These plants are beautiful year round, with many of them showing winter interest. The plants in this garden were donated by the Northeast Heather Society through the work of Harry Bowen. The Heather Garden is located in the Arbor Bowl.

The Arbor Bowl

The Arbor Bowl at Heritage Museums & Gardens is a dell that has been planted with many different types of specimen trees and shrubs. Included in this area are hibiscus, lilac, viburnum, dogwood, stewartia and sourwood. It is also the location of the museum’s ginkgo tree; ginkos are special trees because they have been growing on Earth for over 150 million years. There are plants of interest in the Arbor Bowl year round. Most of the specimens in the Arbor Bowl were donated to the museum by other botanic gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum.

Hart Family Maze Garden

Heritage Museums & Gardens recently opened its newest landscape attraction – the Hart Family Maze Garden. This new maze features over 30 varieties of annual and perennial vines which add a new plant collection to the botanical collections of the museum. The maze, constructed of an architectural framework of stainless steel poles and screens, will eventually be covered by the vines creating the “walls” of the maze. While walking through the maze you will come across a fountain featuring a 30 inch diameter glass ball that cascades water from the top over the globe’s surface.

Labyrinth

The labyrinth was added to the museum’s landscape in 2002. Designed by one of the premier labyrinth designers in North America, Marty Cain, this example is a seven-circuit labyrinth. Unlike a maze, which has traps and false turns, a labyrinth has a single, roundabout path leading to the center. The person walking the labyrinth uses the same path to return to where they started. Since the path is always in full view, the walker can lose themselves in contemplation.

Specimen Trees

Heritage Museums & Gardens features many wonderful examples of specimen trees throughout the property. The oldest examples are three European Beech trees estimated to be 100 years old with trunks over twenty feet in diameter, located near the Administration Building. The most photographed tree at the museum is the Fringe Tree, which is covered each June with large fragrant white blossoms. The first tree to bloom each year is the Chinese Witch Hazel. In February, this tree sprouts bright yellow flowers with ribbon-like petals. Other examples of trees not to miss when walking the grounds include the Weeping Spruce, Blue Atlas cedar, Silk Tree and Japanese Stewartia, as well as many types of holly, which are gorgeous in the winter. Come anytime of year and enjoy our wonderful trees!