NASHUA – Summer may have struck in full force, but there’s cool shade, trickling fountains and white trellises to be found right in your backyard – or somebody else’s.

“What people are seeing today is the evolution of 38 years of hard work, creativity, imagination and the rest,” said Jack Murray, one of a handful of homeowners to open their outdoor living spaces for the Nashua Symphony Garden Tour this weekend.

The Friends of the Nashua Symphony hold the tour each year, along with a Holiday House Tour in December, to fundraise for a symphony cause.

This time around, the proceeds will go toward its education programs.

“When it’s a fundraiser for the community, the homeowners do it all,” said Linda Temperino, a member of the Friends group. “It’s a great undertaking.”

And although last week’s heat wave gave organizers a scare, Temperino said the bright blue skies and temperatures in the 80s on Saturday worked out almost perfectly.

“If we just had a little bit of a breeze, it would keep the bugs away and cool us down,” she said.

Murray and his wife, who don’t have air-
conditioning in their Parnell Road home, headed down to their Massachusetts cottage to escape the heat last week.

However, he was up at 5 a.m. Saturday to get home and greet visitors.

In Murray’s garden, which sloped down the sides of his driveway and meandered around the back of his house, he posted photos of “what you missed” in the spring season and hand-written labels with plant names.

He said visitors had been coming in smaller spurts Saturday morning.

“It’s a nice, casual pace, so I think they’re able to take their time,” he said.

At 3 Coleridge Road, the first stop on the tour, first-time visitor Michael Johnson, of Hollis, rested on a shady bench with his wife and took in the view.

“It’s amazing. We came to generate ideas for our own home,” he said, pointing out the sitting areas and variety of plants. “Our garden is a work in progress.”

Around them, hydrangeas in shades of purple, blue, white and pink enveloped the porch, blending home and garden into a single space. Benches beckoned, and homeowners Gloria and James Henry placed lemonade and cookies on a table for guests.

Off Concord Street, another trio of homes was featured. Columbia Avenue homeowner Devra Cohen sat under an umbrella among her flowers, offering a pitcher of water to visitors. In a couple weeks, more than 30 varieties of lilies will be blooming in her garden.

“My secret is tons of water and prayer,” Cohen said. “Everything’s just taken a beating. It’s been hot, hot, hot.”

Cohen said her garden serves as a three-
dimensional palette, a backdrop for all the senses where she can exercise her artistic impulses.

“It takes a lot of work,” she said. “Gardening is a labor-intensive endeavor. But it’s invigorating.”

Chris Boucher, of Nashua, is a regular patron of the symphony’s garden and house tours. She brought along her husband, Gerry, for his first tour when a friend backed out.

“The best part is finding what other people have in their gardens,” Chris Boucher said. “It’ll inspire you when you get home, and you have to think, ‘How would this look in my yard?’?”

The Nashua Symphony Garden Tour will continue from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, June 24.

Pick up your tickets and map of the six properties for $20 at the first stop on the tour, 3 Coleridge Road. For more information, visit www.nashuasymphony.org.

Kathleen MacFarline can be reached at 594-6482 or kmacfarline@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow MacFarline on Twitter (@Telegraph_KatiM).

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