Twelve gardeners in Brandon, Goshen and Sudbury are opening up their gardens on Saturday, July 25, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for public tours to benefit the Brandon Free Public Library. The rain date is the following day. Please buy tickets online or you can purchase them on the day of at The Inn on Park Street. Once you have purchased your tickets, you will be emailed a map of the various gardens a few days before. We’ve all worked hard to weed and tidy our gardens. It is interesting to see the variety of gardens, plants and designs. There will also be special discounts at several businesses that sell plants. We would love to see you in our gardens! We join you in supporting the Brandon Free Public Library. I want to thank Elaine F. and Higbee for helping me get my gardens as weed-free as possible for the garden tour — no small task. 

I have been “blessed” with a terrible trio of weeds: bindweed in my largest garden, goutweed in my smallest garden that sneaked in with another plant, and a form of artemisia, which is extremely aggressive and which seems to be all over our farm. Online it is described as magical and monstrous and everything in between. Here’s the description of it that I found that perfectly captures this plant and its role in my garden: 

“Artemisia vulgaris (common artemisia), also known as mugwort or chrysanthemum weed. It is a highly invasive perennial in Vermont that spreads rapidly via tough underground roots (rhizomes) and produces chemicals that suppress the growth of surrounding plants.”

There are days when I am completely discouraged by weeding bindweed, mugwort and goutweed. I cannot move any plants from these gardens. I have mountains of compost from weeding. I’ve lost hope that I can eradicate them. I’ve been seeking professional help from gardeners, landscapers, the extension service, and anyone who will listen to me on how to best eliminate them. Or shall I simply eliminate the gardens they are in??? I’m still deciding. 

If and when I can raise my eyes and thoughts from weeds and look differently, I see the glories of midsummer! The abundance of flowers, both perennial and annual, is spectacular. I can look out on a sea of Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans), Heliopolis (false sunflower), Shasta daisies, Asiatic lilies, daylilies, lavender, balloon flower, Echinacea of all colors, and Hosta (now in bloom) to name a few of the perennials. There are flowering shrubs too: plenty of hydrangea, spirea, and hibiscus about.

I visited a friend the other evening, and her home and entire property is abloom with the most beautiful baskets and containers of annuals everywhere, hanging from rafters, spilling down steps. It was such a welcoming sight. I often eschew annuals because I am not the most consistent at watering them, but on balance I may have to choose between weeding and watering in the future. 

One annual that I am very “late to the party” in acquiring is the marigold. I certainly had learned of its benefits when I was much younger as a deterrent of various pests in the vegetable garden.

I also certainly know that they are edible, but I never really grew them or ate them; that is, until this year after my entire family raved about the marigolds in Central Park in Brandon. “What is that plant?” I heard constantly. So I asked and learned they are called African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) or possibly French marigolds (Tagetes patula), but I did not keep the tag. They are tall with large pom-pom type flower heads. They have been an absolute delight to grow.

I pre-ordered them last autumn from Virgil and Constance, which stocked several different colors this year. I bought them early and put them in the ground long before any flower heads began to appear and have simply waited. They have not disappointed. They are in full bloom, and if I am as lucky as Central Park was last year, they will stay in bloom, probably until frost. What a hardworking annual this is. So far, I have not had to deadhead, water, or even weed them. The flowers have been so prolific they seem to have elbowed out everything else. So I’m sending out a hip-hip-hooray to the marigold, which, as you probably know, is used across the globe in so many ways: as a food coloring, in festivals of all sorts, and stars in two fun Indian rom-com movies called "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and the sequel. The marigold certainly got to co-star with some great award-winning actors. There is an oft-quoted line from the first movie that bubbles with optimism: “Everything will be all right in the end; if it’s not all right, it’s not the end.” I will remember that line when dealing with my bindweed, goutweed and mugwort.