Open Secrets

Imagine a garden, an open field on a street in Cambridge filled with lupines whose purple flowers are checkered with hundreds and hundreds of white daisies and red roses. 

Imagine a front yard, where peonies and lavender and irises are so full of color that you have to stop and look even when you want to get back in your car.

Imagine those gardens, and you’ll be thinking of the latest addition to the Secret Gardens of Cambridge, the “Open Secrets” of next June’s garden tour. 



Friends of the Cambridge Public Library member
Sherry Leffert photographed this dewy daisy on
Wendell St.


How about a church on Massachusetts Avenue, where the grounds surround the building and bloom from May until October?  Or the Oldest House in Cambridge, which until the end of the 19^th century determined the edge of the Cambridge Commons and now boasts a lavish splash of annuals on its grounds near Linnean Street?  All of these and more are going to be a part of next June’s “Secret Gardens” tour, and we’re hoping you’ll include them on your calendar.

By definition, a “secret” garden is one that is hidden from the street—one that you only have access to by knowing  its owners or a close friend.  But the “Open Secrets” are just that—open to the public, to be enjoyed without intruding on anyone’s property or time.  There’s a community garden in East Cambridge where you’ll see funky gates, raised beds and metal sculptures in a limited but well-used space.  The glass flowers of Harvard’s MCZ are open to the public the day of the Secret Gardens’ tour, and make a perfect addition to the concept of an “Open Secret.”

What is more perfect than a rose in June?

So get ready for next year’s “Secret Gardens of Cambridge”: more than two dozen gardens throughout the city that are open for one glorious Sunday in June. And remember that some secrets are open. You never know when you’ll want to tell a friend.

There are always great things happening at the library! For more information on how you can get involved with the Friends of the Cambridge Public Library click here.