Mother’s Day garden tour moved to September
Restrictions on public gatherings across the state due to COVID-19 have led to cancellations of many annual traditions in CNY. Unfortunately, this includes the popular Mother’s Day garden tour at Sycamore Hill Gardens to benefit Baltimore Woods Nature Center, which hundreds of local families usually enjoy each May.
The Mother’s Day Garden Tour is an important annual fundraiser for the nonprofit nature center, supporting Baltimore Woods Nature Center’s mission of environmental stewardship and education. The staff at Sycamore Hill Gardens plants thousands of bulbs each fall in anticipation of the spring event, and families often plan their days around this garden tour, enjoying the blooms, exploring the themed gardens, and navigating the large evergreen labyrinth.
When it became clear that it would not be safe to hold the event this year, the owners of Sycamore Hill Gardens, Karen and George Hanford, brainstormed an alternative to the popular fundraiser with Baltimore Woods staff and board members. Together, they developed a creative way to raise funds for Baltimore Woods and allow many local families the opportunity to visit Sycamore Hill Gardens, a private property that is normally open to the public a few times a year.
Starting on Monday, May 4, community members may purchase raffle tickets online at baltimorewoods.org to win a chance to visit the private gardens. There will be a new raffle drawing each week through August 31, and each raffle ticket will double as a pre-sale ticket to a fall garden tour to benefit Baltimore Woods, which will be held on Sept. 26, 2020.
Weekly raffle winners will be awarded the opportunity to visit Sycamore Hill Gardens with the members of their immediate households. Winners will individually schedule their visits at a time that is convenient for their households, and they will enjoy a self-guided tour of the expansive gardens—which includes over 40 acres of flowering plants and trees, sculptures, ponds, and more.
Raffle tickets will be sold for $6 on the Baltimore Woods Nature Center website, and they will be available to purchase from May 4 to Aug. 30. A new raffle drawing will be held each Monday morning during that period, with winners chosen from ticket purchases the week before. Seventeen local families will win a visit to Sycamore Hill Gardens this spring and summer through this raffle, and everyone who enters the raffle will also be purchasing a ticket to attend the garden tour in September, so it’s a win for everyone who enters! All funds raised through this raffle benefit Baltimore Woods Nature Center.
Submitted photos
The Annual Mother’s Day garden tour at Sycamore Hill Gardens has been postponed to September.
