Mark your Calendar
SATURDAY & SUNDAY MAY 16 & 17
Trade Secrets Garden Tours Saturday, May 16 Multiple locations in Connecticut and New York
Trade Secrets Rare Plant and Garden Antiques Sale Sunday, May 17, 7:30 to 2 Lime Rock Park 60 White Hollow Road Lakeville, Connecticut
TICKETS GO ON SALE for Trade Secrets on April 1 for the general public and March 2 for underwriters. For information on being an underwriter or to volunteer, or to buy tickets, go to tradesecretsct. com. widely known in the Berkshires as co-founder of WAM Theatre. She joined Project SAGE in June 2024, and last year was the first time she attended Trade Secrets.
“ I was, like, why isn’ t everybody in the Berkshires coming to this?” she says.“ People with these extraordinary gardens are opening their homes for timed garden tours. It’ s a chance you’ re never going to get. That, to me, feels really special, and new this year is that they’ re all private gardens.
“ People flock to the Berkshires because they love the nature and they have an appreciation of outdoor beauty. With Trade Secrets, you could go visit gardens and just have this extraordinary time, and have lunch somewhere cute in-between. And then on Sunday, the sale at Lime Rock starts at 7:30 and goes until 2. There’ s classical music playing, and there’ s beautiful plants and these extraordinary garden antiques, and there’ s food and the vibe is just so fun.”
There’ s no need to convince Martha, who calls Trade Secrets one of her favorite garden shows. The all-day affair for her usually includes shopping and socializing, having breakfast or brunch, stopping at Bunny’ s house, and then more antiquing on the way home.
“ That has been a big benefit to Trade Secrets’ growth, to have somebody like Martha talk about it,” says Bunny. Martha wouldn’ t miss it for the world.“ Bunny and her committee have done an amazing job of making this the premier garden event of the Northeast,” says Martha.“ I usually get number one or two in line.”
Along with bringing two trucks, Martha is accompanied by her blogger, Jocelyn Santos, and her head gardener, Ryan McCallister, as well as a couple of other friends.“ We have plenty of
Gorgeous plants abound at the Sunday sale.( Courtesy of Trade Secrets) Every year, Bunny Williams opens her home for the Trade Secrets garden tours.( Annie Schlechter, from Life in the Garden) room to carry stuff home, and the trucks are always full by the end of the day,” says Martha, always on the hunt for plants and other items for her 156-acre Bedford, New York, estate and 100-acre woodland garden in Maine.
“ I have so many things that I bought there that are growing in my garden, and so many pieces of furniture and garden ornaments that I bought there over the years. They’ re a daily reminder,” says Martha.“ If you’ re a serious gardener like I am, it is very difficult to get to all the different garden centers and various growers in the Northeast and elsewhere to buy the plants that you’ d like for your garden. So, this is the one day where you can go and visit with the growers of epimediums, the growers of hellebores, the growers of different kinds of conifers— all the kinds of plants I collect.“ I have such an epimedium collection. Epimediums are a small perennial plant that grow anywhere, from one inch off the ground to maybe 12 inches off the ground. Once they get established, they spread very nicely. They are a shade-loving plant. There are hundreds of different cultivars, but I have them all. I have bought all my collection there, and I have a collection that probably rivals its growers because I have all of theirs. There are minuscule differences between each cultivar. It makes me want to go and see what else they have. It’ s such an easy way to do it, because they’ re all in one place.”
What Bunny loves about the event is seeing so many people and friends that she hasn’ t seen for a long time. Although there is nothing that she really needs for her garden that she has cultivated for over 40 years, Bunny always finds something special at Trade Secrets.“ I love my dahlias,” she says.“ If somebody is growing dahlias and they’ ve got a new, beautiful dahlia or a tree peony at Trade Secrets, I’ m there!”
That level of enthusiasm is palatable from the very start of Trade Secrets.“ I don’ t know any event— and I go to a lot of events— where people are so excited that they are standing in line for an hour to get in,” Bunny continues.“ These are plant people. They are serious, and they’ re excited to find things that are special.”
Every gardener has something that they specialize in, and certainly people are centered on native plants and eager to learn and find more.“ You can buy as much or as little as you want, and you make friends with the growers,” says Martha.“ You establish relationships with people that might be helpful to you and your gardening ventures.”
Martha also goes for the antiques, which she buys not only for her garden, but also for her
20 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Spring 2026