2016 Cape Farm and Garden Tour set June 11

Three unique Delmarva farms and gardens will be on the 2016 Cape Farm and Garden Tour to be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 11, in coastal Sussex County. Tickets are $20. To purchase tickets in advance, go to www.capefarmandgardentour.org by 6 p.m., Friday, June 10. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the tour at each participating farm and garden.

Tour sites are Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor, 18864 Cool Spring Road, Milton; Mill Pond Garden, 31401 Melloy Court, Lewes; and Black Hog Farm, 16371 New Road, Lewes. Carpooling is encouraged.

Parking is limited at Black Hog Farm. Jolly Trolley will provide shuttle service to all three sites. Park at Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor. Water and iced tea will be provided at all sites. A farm-to-table lunch can be purchased at Lavender Fields throughout the day. The three sites are within about a 15-minute drive of one another. If the tour sells out prior to June 11, the information will be posted on the website.

Mill Pond Garden is a half-acre Sentinel Garden, a botanical garden member of the American Public Garden Association, emphasizing native plants, and a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat with a collection of educational habitats. Mill Pond also produces and introduces highly prized new cultivars of shrubs and perennial plants with its partner Black Hog Farmstead and contributes to the Longwood Rare Plant Auction for the benefit of the Delaware Center for Horticulture, to the Delaware Botanic Gardens, and Habitat for Humanity.

The tour features in-bloom water lilies, daylilies, Asiatic lilies, alliums, hydrangeas, roses and more.  There are two koi ponds, rustic arbors and great Monet-like views of Red Mill Pond. Mill Pond Garden is directed by Michael Zajic, the founder of Delaware Botanic Gardens and formerly the horticultural supervisor of two public gardens, Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Md., and McCrillis Garden in Bethesda, Md.

Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor is a Delaware agritourism site with fields of hidcote, munstead, super and grosso lavender. The farm is also a stop on the Delmarva Hosta Society Tour. Gardens surround the historic 1890 farmhouse - visitors will enjoy the fields of fragrant lavender blooms, a unique sensory experience not to be missed.  A large meadow garden with lush wildflowers completes the visitors’ experience.

The farm also offers lavender plants and lavender value-added delights for sale in the cottage store. Activities June 11 include demonstrations to highlight how to grow lavender, and wreath-making instruction by members of the Milton Garden Club. Judy Knight, National Capital Area Dahlia Society, will demonstrate how to plant and grow dahlias. Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor is home to the small-batch handcrafted Soap Fairy and Lavender Fields Soap. Soap-making processes will also be discussed in the afternoon.

An orientation will be given for walking the well-landscaped 11-circuit meditation labyrinth, hand laid by Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor co-owner Sharon Harris.

Black Hog Farmstead is a 4½-acre diversified farm with a cozy three-room B&B. The property features ornamental gardens, over 30 beautiful containers, fields with beds of produce - more than 60 vegetables are grown on the property, pasture-fed ducks and an enclosed orchard with weeder geese containing a future pick-your-own blueberry patch, figs, fruit and nut trees. Produce is sold at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market on Saturdays, eggs and Black Hog Farm-propagated shrubs are sold from the farmstead, and gourmet farm-to-table dinners are held once a month from May to October.

Garden plantings include a blue, silver and white bed; a red, yellow and orange bed containing many roses; a bed of native perennials and shrubs; and a shade garden with some unusual plants like edgeworthia and wax bells. Trays of colorful micro-greens fill the greenhouses, ready for several local restaurants and for sale at the farmers market. John Feliciani, co-owner, recently retired from a 40-year career at Winterthur Museum, Estate and Gardens, the last 23 years as director of horticulture and curator of gardens. Helen S. Waite, co-owner, is a retired horticulturist with a master's in soil science and interests in gardening, holistic orchards and composting.

For more information go to www.capefarmandgardentour.org.