Came for the gardens, stayed for the statues.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden was very much under construction in late May. After showing our timed ticket at the gate, we were greeted by a yellow beeping backhoe, and signs guiding us around a literal mountain of construction. But hey, we drove all the way to Boylston, so we were going to make the most of it.
The indoor Orangerie was oranger-empty. The Limonaia? More like Lame-onaia. Okay, okay. Once we got past the confusion of “where are the heck are there any gardens around here?” we did enjoy walking through the wooded trails, which were dotted with little sculptures and surprises, like a statue of Pan and a big bird’s nest that was fun to sit in.
We enjoyed the Rustic Overlook and the Rustic Pavillion, both rather rustic, as well as the shade garden that had some cool mossy steps.
Finally towards the end of the trip we located some flowery gardens, more like what we were expecting. The Lawn Garden and the Not-so-Secret Garden were lovely and I especially enjoyed all the azalea bushes.
I’d like to go back sometime in a different season, maybe when all the construction is finished!