Tower Hill Botanical Garden to Host Shades of Autumn this Weekend

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Saturday, October 06, 2012

Jeffrey Starr, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston will be holding its annual three day long Shades of Autumn event this Columbus Day Weekend, October 6-8. Festivities are family friendly, designed as a celebration of the harvest season, and will include locally made products, children's crafts, and heirloom apples.  There will be scavenger hunts, apple orchard tasting tours in the famous antique apple orchard, various local vendors offering locally made products for sale and of course hot apple cider. Beautiful and creative displays of Garden produce and living "Garden sculptures" can also be seen and admired.

"It is a family celebration of the fall harvest season, so the purpose is to show some examples of that harvest," says Michael Arnum, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Tower Hill, "Our antique apples for one example, in addition to the produce from our vegetable garden, but we also just want people to enjoy and appreciate this magnificent garden in all seasons."

There will also be live animals, such as Great Rock Alpacas, on site. Children may also enjoy face and pumpkin painting, and hayrides, weather permitting.

Further, various live music performances from bands and musical artists will be held. These artists include the Hip Swayers, Carrie Rowan who will be giving a family concert, Tim Van Egmond who will be hosting a show entitled "A Bushel Full of Autumn Tales and Songs," and Joe Brennian performing with a Native American flute.

As an extra treat, puppeteer Deborah Costine will be performing the story "The Twig Family in the Oak Tree" about an imaginary family of twig people living in harmony with nature.

In addition, visitors will be able to experience the usual sights and attractions the Tower Hill Botanical Garden has to offer, i.e the breathtaking views of Mt. Wachusett, the reservoir, and the stunning multitude of trees and shrubs known for their striking fall color.

"We want visitors to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of autumn at a botanic garden, and understand the contributions that plants make to our lives,' says Arnum, explaining what they want people to get out of the event, "We want to help people fight “Nature Deficit Disorder” by giving them an opportunity to be outdoors in a beautiful and safe environment."

The Garden was created and is maintained  by the Worcester County Horticultural Society, an educational organization created "for the purpose of advancing the science and encouraging and improving the practice of horticulture." Officially opening in 1986 as a botanical garden " of the highest educational and aesthetic quality", it  is the only comprehensive botanic garden in New England. Tower Hill houses eight distinct gardens and accommodates up to 150,000 visitors each year .

During this time of year, Arnum notes, "we are celebrating all that autumn in New England has to offer—fall color, harvest, and the natural beauty of the outdoors."

Shades of Autumn is just one of a number of seasonally-oriented events Tower Hill Botanical Garden holds every year. Also look out for Holly Days beginning November 23 and lasting until December 30 and Flora in Winter January 31 until February 3 honoring the  upcoming winter months.
Boylston residents, members, and children under 6 get in to Shades of Autumn for free. The cost is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for youth for everyone else. For more information, click here.

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