Fort Ticonderoga’s King’s Garden Opens May 25!

ALBANY, N.Y. - May 17, 2013 - PRLog -- Fort Ticonderoga’s King’s Garden opens for the season on May 25 with a stunning display of annuals and perennials!  As the largest public garden in the Adirondack-Lake Champlain region and one of the oldest gardens in America, the King’s Garden offers daily guided tours and self-guided activities for adults and children throughout the season.  The King’s Garden is open from 9:30 am until 5 pm daily, May 25 through October 16, 2013.  Admission to the King’s Garden is included with a general admission ticket to Fort Ticonderoga.  For additional information on the King’s Garden and its 2013 programs visit www.fortticonderoga.org or call 518-585-2821.

New this year!
“Many new horticultural tours will be offered this year which highlight Fort Ticonderoga’s thriving horticulture program and give insight into the re-creation of an historic garden that spans centuries and features the heirloom and modern varieties of plants and flowers that are displayed alongside each other,” said Beth Hill, President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga.

“Guest will roll up their sleeves and dig into Fort Ticonderoga’s centuries of horticulture in the formal garden along with the Discovery Gardens - the Garrison Garden, Children’s Garden, and Three Sisters Garden,” said Heidi Karkoski, Director of Horticulture. “Program opportunities including Growing up with Gardening: Sow, Grow & Know!, Nature Walks for Kids, Hands-on Horticulture, adult workshops and Master Gardener presentations offer active discovery and enjoyment for all ages.”

Also new this year is an interactive 18th-century French Garrison Garden which will bring this vibrant, living garden space to life and highlight the vital vocation of gardening that was an important part of soldiers’ duties at Fort Ticonderoga.

From Garden to Table!
Vegetables and edible flowers grown in the King’s Garden are served daily at Fort Ticonderoga’s America’s Fort Café.  King’s Garden vegetables are also included in the Soldier’s Dinner program presented each mid-day by interpretive staff.

About the King’s Garden
The walled colonial revival King’s Garden was originally designed in 1921 by leading landscape architect Marian Coffin.  The formal elements – a reflecting pool, manicured lawn and hedges, and brick walls and walkways – are softened by a profusion of annuals and perennials, carefully arranged by color and form.  Heirloom flowers and modern cultivars are used to recreate the historic planting scheme. Guest’s favorites include the lavender border, towering hollyhocks, bearded irises, dinner plate dahlias and many types of phlox.
Outside of the nine-foot brick walls of the colonial revival King’s Garden, the Discovery Gardens include a children’s garden, an interactive 18th –century French Garrison Garden, and Three Sisters Garden. The restored Lord and Burnham greenhouse, charming gazebo, sweeping lawns and shady picnic spots invite visitors to explore the landscape at one of America’s oldest gardens dating to the French occupation of the Fort in the mid-18th century.

FORT TICONDEROGA
America’s Fort ™
Located on Lake Champlain in the beautiful 6 million acre Adirondack Park, Fort Ticonderoga is a not-for-profit historic site and museum that ensures that present and future generations learn from the struggles, sacrifices, and victories that shaped the nations of North America and changed world history. Serving the public since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors annually and is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Fort Ticonderoga’s history.  Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Fort Ticonderoga offers programs, historic interpretation, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits throughout the year and is open for daily visitation May 17 through October 20, 2013. The 2013 season features the Fort’s newest exhibit “It would make a heart of stone melt” Sickness, Injury, and Medicine at Fort Ticonderoga which explores early medical theory, practice, and experience as each relates to the armies that served at Fort Ticonderoga in the 18th century.  Visit www.FortTiconderoga.org for a full list of ongoing programs or call 518-585-2821. Fort Ticonderoga is located at 100 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, New York.

America’s Fort is a registered trademark of the Fort Ticonderoga Association.