Properties featured on the tour this year:

McCann Home & Garden • 240 Hillendale Drive: This home was built in the 1950s by renowned contractor, Luther Nash. The house hadn’t changed much in the 40 plus years of its life at the time we bought it, except for a magnificent sun room and patio addition that the previous owners contracted.

(See if you can find the 1997 nickel marking the renovation date that’s embedded in the patio stone wall.) In 2009 a new kitchen/great room was added. The garden boasts blue Hydrangeas and Dawn roses climbing over our garage.

Snyder Home & Garden • 413 Lincoln Avenue: Imagine yourself stepping back in time to relax in a garden surrounded by stone walls and ornamental shrubbery. As you glide in a swing you observe an arbor of ancient wooden beams from an old barn ruin.

If you are so inspired you can work in the potting shed constructed from old barn remnants or simply choose to sit and enjoy the solitude. It’s almost impossible to believe that this setting is in Doylestown Borough and not in some remote rural property. This property is very unique, and one of a kind.

Frederick-Taflin Home & Garden • 384 West Oakland Avenue: This home was purchased in 1991. In 1993 the garden won an award in the Bucks Beautiful garden competition. In 2003 the living space was expanded from 1200 to 2400 square feet.

The kitchen was expanded and the handcrafted pine cabinets were built by a local Doylestown craftsman. From the kitchen window you can see the raised bed herb garden that provides fresh herbs for all their cooking and tomato sauce canning.

Cacossa Home & Garden • 412 West Oakland Avenue: This 1930’s Arts & Crafts Cottage was recently renovated, maintaining the original style and objectives of the Arts & Crafts tradition while incorporating the latest green design techniques. The Kitchen was gutted and expanded to twice the size of the original space. It has bamboo hardwood flooring, soapstone countertops, Mercer tile backsplashes, an electric induction cook top and a pullout drawer microwave oven.

The backyard gardens create an atmosphere of serenity while providing plenty of space for entertaining. The flagstone patio meanders through the yard connecting the seating areas. Even the new driveway has gone green. A 1500 gallon rainwater harvesting system was installed under the driveway which collects the water from the roof drains and stores it for future use.

Poretta Home & Garden • 272 West Court Street
This federal-style home was designed in 1915 by Oscar Martin, built on property that was part of the last Lenape Indian reservation, the land was then used as ground for a girl’s seminary.  Indian artifacts continue to be unearthed by neighborhood children. Only four families have lived in this nearly 100 year old home. As you approach this stately home, you will notice the glass enclosed vestibule, the beautifully detailed balustrade front porch and the three antique black urns as well as mercer tiled patios. The mercer tile hearth and red-pine floor in the kitchen are original. 

The park-like backyard, where hundreds of years old trees canopy the patio also, boosts a massive white oak; known as a “William Penn Oak”. The antique, three tiered iron fountain is the showpiece of the garden and adds a delightful water sound, for diners on the patio, and refreshes the many birds that flock to its cool water. The bluestone patio was expanded to incorporate the old and the new patios and allows access to the screen porch and lively backyard barbeques. Many old rhododendrons ring the perimeter of the property and add to the “bones” of a truly beautiful Doylestown shade garden.