LONDONDERRY — Kathy McMahon said that she once read in a gardening magazine that "gardening is not really just for you."
So, once again McMahon and her husband, Jim McMahon, are opening the lovely gardens around their home and bed and breakfast on King John Drive for garden walks for charity. The proceeds from "A Walk in the Garden," scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23, will benefit the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter.
McMahon and her husband have been gently nurturing the gardens around their Londonderry home for 12 years, ever since their youngest child, Tiffany, left for college.
Starting with a few pots of marigolds, Kathy's gardens — named Tiffany Gardens — now flourish on three-quarters of an acre with five water features, stone walls and whimsical sculptures.
Over the years, people would often slow down to admire her work in the front of the property, not realizing that the beauty tripled, or maybe quadrupled, when one took a walk out in back of their home.
"We were putting in a new kitchen and had to dig up the lawn to move the septic tank," Jim McMahon recalled. "One day I came home from work, and there was Kathy, ripping up the lawn around the pool."
The couple now spend most waking hours, while not a work, in the gardens.
"Gardening is like life," Kathy McMahon said. "Sometimes, something is right in front of you and you just step in it."
They choose plants for their colors and diversity and purchase them from all over the country.
"If something isn't doing well where we plant it, we move it," Kathy McMahon said.
Two years ago, the couple offered to open up the gardens to benefit a co-worker in her struggle with cancer. Last year, the garden walk proceeds went to the Sonshine Soup Kitchen in Derry.
Recently, Kathy McMahon made flower arrangements that she sold over a weekend to help the St. Jude's Food Pantry.
Want to Help?
What: "A Walk in the Garden"
When: Saturday, Aug. 23, rain date Sunday, Aug. 24
Self-guided tours begin at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 4 p.m.
Where: 15 King John Drive, Londonderry
More: Admission fee is $10 per person, cash or check. Children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. Please leave pets home.
Call 603-432-0418 or visit www.tiffanygardens.com for directions or more information.
