Join the RIHS for a member-exclusive tour of Little Compton’s Sakonnet Gardens. Sakonnet is a secret garden embedded within a native coastal field landscape. At the diminutive scale of a cottage garden, it is conceived as an intimate place to explore, with multiple paths leading one onward to unexpected experiences.
Sakonnet began in the mid-1970s as a small clearing deep within a natural tangle of Autumn Olives, Oriental Bittersweet, and local Arrowwood Viburnums. Now larger than an acre, its labyrinth of spaces is carved organically out of the original thicket. Featuring 20 outdoor “rooms,” each is themed around a different color, climate, or landscape to accentuate the plants that have been curated and grown in each space. Sakonnet also features a one-acre Pollinator Plus garden to support insect populations.
Sakonnet Garden is a long-term project of John Gwynne (JAG) and Mikel Folcarelli (MF), abetted by Addie Kurz (energetic sister) and Ed Bowen of Issima Nursery. All are Rhode Islanders, with John, trained as a Landscape Architect and involved with global conservation education and local meadow restoration plus Mikel, a store design and brand identity consultant, increasingly involved in project management and house interiors.
Secure your tickets now here.
IMPORTANT TICKET NOTE: The garden features limited parking. When purchasing tickets, please purchase one “driver” ticket per car and “passenger” tickets for any additional guests who may join you in the same vehicle. If you have any questions about ticket purchases, please contact us at programs@rihs.org.