(The featured photo is of marsh marigold blooming in Whispering Waters Wetland.)

The Quarry Gardens events calendar and online reservation form is up—and we look forward to seeing you soon! (Thanks to Sara Elizabeth, our website builder and first volunteer Friend of the Quarry Gardens.)

To reserve a free tour online, go to quarrygardensatschuyler.org, click Visit, then Events Calendar; choose your month and event (through June 18, so far), and RSVP with the number of persons in your party. If you want to reserve an event for an established group—such as a native plants, gardening, or industrial history organization—use the Contact form to request a date.

Many have asked when we’ll have our “grand opening.” We’re actually not going to have one, but plan a “soft opening,” instead, guided by the knowledge that the site is better experienced with a small group. Tours for individuals on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday afternoons, will start in May and continue until November. In late April, we’ll have a private Open House for families of those who have been involved in building the gardens and Visitor Center. And we’ll have six tours on Saturday, May 6, for the Nelson County Historical Society’s biannual tour of historic sites. (For that day, purchase tickets from the Historical Society.)

As to our readiness, time has somewhat overtaken us. The plants know their schedule, and will be abundant in May and June, although spring ephemerals have already begun appearing and will continue through April. Many plants are still being added to the 40,000 already installed. The Visitor Center is coming together. We have a working classroom, restroom, and water cooler. We expect to have a map of the garden galleries and a soapstone exhibit soon, and the Nelson and Albemarle Railroad model to be running in a few weeks. Most plant- or animal-related exhibits in the Visitor Center will wait until we’ve had a full season to observe and photograph.

Some of the plants already in evidence are spring beauty, skunk cabbage, round-lobed hepatica

So, we’re a work in progress (and likely always will be).  Come see it happening!