It's early February and the ground is still frozen, but Pat Thorpe has been busy planting the seeds for a tour of area gardens early this summer.

Thorpe, a noted garden author, has helped arrange another tour of some of Cooperstown's premier gardens in conjunction with The Garden Conservancy's Open Days Program.

The Open Days Program gives garden enthusiasts a chance to tour private gardens they might otherwise never have the opportunity to see.

"Discovering these private gardens us like having your won weekend retreat," said Laura Mumaw Palmer, Director of the Garden Conservancy's eight-year-old Open Days Program. "There is nothing like a few hours of leisurely exploration to recharge you enthusiasm for you own garden. Many of our garden hosts love to share their secrets with visitors and whether you are a gardener or just want to feel energized by these beautiful places, you shouldn't miss the open days experience."

Thorpe said this will be the second time gardeners have participated in the Open Days Program. This year, there are six private gardens signed up for the tour which will be held on Saturday, June 29.

This year's gardens present a variety of the old and new. "It offers a lot to people planning or restoring a garden or for those who are just in need of some inspiration," Thorpe said.

Proceeds from the five dollar admission fee charged for each garden will be split between The Garden Conservancy's garden preservation program and the work being done to restore and preserve the gardens at Brookwood on Otsego Lake.

In 1998, Thorpe said, the tour proceeds were shared by The Garden Conservancy and the Lake and Valley Garden Club. "The money is going to the community as well as the national project," she said.

Although the local garden club will not share in the admission proceeds, members plan to sell box lunches so that visitors can eat on the go as they travel from garden to garden.

Thorpe said there is much work to be done at Brookwood and that money raised with the tours will be used to pay for repairs to the stone work at the garden. "The stone steps around the garden house are in bad shape," she said.

Work also needs to be done to improve signage for the parking area and there is the ongoing effort to renew the plantings.

Thorpe said she hopes to re-create the rose garden at Brookwood which has become a hodge-podge over the years. In the future she believes it may serve as a teaching garden for people who are interested in hardy plants because this climate can be difficult. "It lets them know what can be done," she said.

The Cooperstown area gardens participating in this year's Open Days include Thorpe's Heathcote on Estli Avenue, the remains of the garden at Fynmere which is now primarily of architectural interest because it was designed by Ellen Shipman in 1912, the cottage garden of Frank Kubis in Middlefield, the garden of Loris and Jim Orthwein on Fish Road in Middlefield, the garden of J. Mason and Rhea Reynolds on Lake Street with a landscape plan developed by designer Gary Barnum, and the garden of Gail Reid Freehafer and Dr. John Freehafer at Riverbrink on Main Street that features 60 peony bushes that flank the drive to the old carriage house.

The gardens are featured in The Garden Conservancy's 2002 edition of the Open Days Directory which list 450 private gardens across the country which are open on specific days beginning in March in Arizona and running through mid-October.

It is not necessary to purchase the directory to participate in the Open Days tour in Cooperstown, but Thorpe said it is a fantastic resource for people interested in visiting private gardens. The book is available through booksellers or The Garden Conservancy's website, www.gardenconservancy.org.

Anyone in the area interested in helping with the work to be done at Brookwood may lend a hand during a garden clean-up day tentatively planned for the end of March, according to Thorpe. Interested volunteers should watch for dates or call Thorpe at 547-2170 for more information.