For garden enthusiasts Michael Esposito and Cynthia Redel, purchasing the historic Silver Gull house on Ned’s Point was an opportunity to pursue their botanical hobby.

When they first started gardening at their previous home on Marion Road, Redel said she and Esposito, the President of consulting firm Norbridge, were clueless. But neighbors and a local nursery owner helped them develop their first garden.

“They were very kind and patient,” said Redel. “They were very tolerant of all our beginner questions.”

Without much sun on the yard, the couple opted for a shade garden with different textures rather than one with a lot of color that would require more sunlight.

Redel, who designs large information systems as a partner in the company IT Strategies, said part of the reason for purchasing the Silver Gull, built in 1916, was to be able to plant brighter gardens.

“I thought it was going to be a treat to have the sun and be able to grow some flowers for color,” said Redel.

Sitting on three and a half acres that overlook Mattapoisett Harbor, the Silver Gull offered the couple plenty of room to stretch their botanical creativity.

Over the past decade she and Esposito have created six garden areas, each with a different feel.

From a shrub border that buffers the house from Ned’s Point Road to a chalice-shaped garden and a color scheme of yellows, silvers and purples, the pair has accomplished their goal.

But the parterre garden, at the rear of the house, is Redel’s favorite spot.

Parterre gardens, often seen on the grounds of European castles, are edged in hedges and formed in a symmetrical pattern.

When the Silver Gull was originally built, landscaper Arthur A. Shurcliff, designed a parterre garden with four sections that surrounded a pool. As the property has since been divided into smaller plots, Redel and Esposito, opted to restore a portion of it.

Redel, who spends at least eight hours a week maintaining the gardens, designed the parterre plot herself.

“I like to look out from my office on the second floor, and I can see this garden,” said Redel.

On Saturday, June 30, the public will see the gardens as part of the Mattapoisett Women’s Club’s Bloomin’ June Garden Tour, which features ten gardens in the area.

And even those with a black thumb can enjoy the tour, said co-chair Ellen Flynn.

“You don’t have to know what you’re looking at as far as the horticultural definitions of the plants,” said Flynn. “But the color schemes, the designs, the way the gardens surround you once you’re in there – it’s a lovely, artful experience.”

For more information on the tour, click here or contact Ellen Flynn at 508-758-1312 or Deanne Girouard at 508-758-2652.