Photography by Brian Hoffman

As a founding member of the Saratoga Soroptimists’ Secret Gardens Tour Committee, Mary Caroline Powers has been in a lot of gardens. When she first laid eyes on Ted and Susan Collins’ garden, though, she was struck. “It was different from any other garden I had seen,” she says.

That was back in the 1990s, and since then, the details of what first grabbed her attention about the private garden have become fuzzy—probably because it’s changed every year since. “Many gardens, while retaining their beauty, remain static in design,” Powers says. “Not so with the Collins’ garden. Each time I visit their garden, it feels like a brand-new experience.”

Indeed, in the last 25 years, the Collinses have quadrupled the size of their lawn and garden, using the additional space to plant new cultivars and install new architectural features. It’s the ever-changing nature of the space that has landed the Collins’ garden on the Saratoga Soroptimists’ annual Secret Gardens Tour again and again; this year’s tour marks the Saratoga community’s fifth and final chance to see it.

Founded in 1979, Soroptimist International of Saratoga County is the local chapter of a larger nonprofit organization that consists of 80,000 members across 120 countries and territories. In the words of founding and still-active Saratoga member Barbara Lombardo, Soroptimists around the world are “dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls—and having fun while doing it.”

In Saratoga, the Soroptimists partner with local nonprofit Wellspring on an eight-week program that helps women achieve financial and legal independence; put on a confidence-building and career-planning seminar for high school girls facing obstacles to success; award grants to female heads-of-household who are pursuing vocational or higher education to achieve financial stability; and provide financial support to service-minded high school girls and the nonprofit organizations they volunteer for. These initiatives require a lot of hard work (i.e. womanpower) and—let’s face it—money.

That’s where the Secret Gardens Tour comes in. Now in its 30th year, the one-day event has become the Saratoga Soroptimists’ signature (and only) annual fundraiser. Returning to the Spa City on June 29th, the self-guided tour will give attendees the opportunity to explore (and glean landscaping inspiration from) ten gardens—nine private and one public—ranging from sprawling suburban landscapes to tiny, creative city oases. Tickets can be purchased in person at all Adirondack Trust and Cudney’s Cleaners locations, Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga, and Faddegon’s Nursery in Latham, or at soroptimistsaratoga.org. On the day of the event, tickets will only be sold online and outside of the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center from 9:30am–noon.

But back to the Collinses. The couple didn’t set out to be gardeners. First, they were homebuyers, purchasing their Saratoga home in 1993. There were a few plants around the house, and they decided to build upon them. “Then,” Ted says, “the whole thing just evolved project by project.”

Susan—who Ted proclaims is the “real gardener” (he’s “just the support staff”)—continued to add more plants and flowers, always prioritizing integration with existing wildlife and refraining from using chemicals or fertilizers. “Every week, I find something new that Susan’s done,” Ted says. Sometimes, plants will even appear that neither of them had anything to do with. (Ted’s best guess? Birds.) 

Over the years, the duo has expanded their infrastructure to include a gazebo, a greenhouse, and a she-shed. Sometime between the 10th and 20th anniversary garden tours (the Collins’ garden was featured in both), Ted developed a love for rock work; since then, he’s built a stone fireplace, a rock waterfall, and a rock rendition of the constellation Orion. “On the days we were putting rocks around, I’d work 12 hours straight,” he says. “And at the end of the day, I’d feel like I played all day—not worked. What a joy it is to have something like that.” 

While the Collinses will be retiring their backyard from the Secret Gardens Tour after this year, their participation over the last three decades has been nothing short of meaningful for the couple.

“It’s been a real honor,” says Ted. “There’s a lot of joy for us in creating and viewing the garden, but there’s also joy in watching others enjoy it. I hope it inspires people and gives them ideas on what they, themselves, can do.”