Fuller Gardens

Happy New Year, and welcome back to my blog after my winter holiday break! In July 2025, I took a daytrip to the Greater Portsmouth area and visited many history-themed attractions, including botanical gardens, a historic house, a boat tour, and quick history stops. The first post in the four-part series focuses on Fuller Gardens located in North Hampton, NH. This had been on my list of places to visit for several years, but the stop had eluded me. I was glad to have the opportunity to visit at last.

An English style garden with a neat argyle pattern made of grass and surrounded by shrubs A round English style garden with sections of roses pointed towards the center A Japanese style small wooden bridge about three feet wide and five feet long.
A white, two-story carriage house with green shutters and a cupola in the center of the roof. A sundial made of a metal globe-like shape with an arrow through the center attached to a cement pillar about waist height Undersized white stone statue of a little boy playing a snare drum

Fuller Gardens was named for Alvan Tufts Fuller, an early automotive dealership owner and a Massachusetts politician. His middle name came from the maiden name of his mother, Flora Arabella Tufts Fuller. Philanthropist Charles Tufts, for whom Tufts University is named, may be a distant relative, although I could not find the exact genealogical connection. Besides this connection, he was a colleague of Theodore Roosevelt, who encouraged his political ambitions. He served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1925 to 1929, not long after the term of my favorite Massachusetts Governor, Calvin College, who served from 1919 to 1921. Fuller even considered running for president after Coolidge decided not to seek reelection in 1928, but he ended up backing Herbert Hoover instead.

A little cactus with an orange tuft on its top planted in a terracotta pot. A small, gray church building with neogothic features A white sign with dark green text reading in part Union Chapel Erected 1877

At any rate, Fuller was like most wealthy people in his time when hiring the landscape architects for his estate. He began work with frequent blog guest Arthur A. Shurtleff (also spelled Shurcliff) to create the original garden in 1927. He then expanded the enterprise by hiring the Olmsted Brothers Firm of Boston, originally founded by another frequent blog guest, Frederick Law Olmsted. Fuller wanted to impress his wife and the mother of his four children, Viola Theresa Davenport Fuller, who loved music and bright colors. The Fullers were generous and opened their garden to the public. In fact, they enjoyed watching people admire their flowers much more than walking through the gardens on their own.

A pink and yellow mid-sized rose blossom, about three inches across A chubby bumble bee drinks nectar from a flower with red petals and a white center. A group of brown trees with few leaves on their tangled branches.

Fuller Gardens was fortunate to transition from a semi-private property to a nonprofit organization. Edward Brown was the first director, and he worked for the Fuller family beginning with the original garden. While one major change to the property did occur when the house, Runnymede-by-the-Sea, was torn down in 1961, the other sections look much as they did when the Fullers lived there. The small Hosta Garden abuts the parking area. Once past the Garden Shop, visitors enter the Side Garden filled with many breeds of roses. Nearby is the Lydia Fuller Bottomley Garden, named for the daughter of Alvan and Viola. A Conservatory, similar to a greenhouse, hosts desert and tropical plants, while the adjoining Propagation House is a nursery for baby plants. Between them is the Dahlia Display Garden with a wide variety of colorful blossoms.

A green sign with yellow lettering reading Fuller Gardens A light orange rose with a small bee in the center. A bright pink dahlia situated between two dahlia buds

Crossing the driveway leading towards the Carriage House, open only to staff, visitors enter a Japanese style garden with a Koi Pond and pedestrian bridge. The largest area is the English style Front Garden with neatly trimmed shrubs, a fountain, and cute statues. Before leaving Fuller Garden, be sure to check out the Garden Shop with its variety of affordable souvenir options. Vintage postcards were only $0.75 when I visited. If time permits, stop across the street to see the Union Chapel of Seacoast next door to the footprint of Runnymede-by-the-Sea. The active, interdenominational church was built in 1877 and now hosts summer services on Sundays at 11:00 a.m., along with weddings into the fall.

A nice pair of purply pink flowers with eight petals and yellow in the center. An orchid with dark purple veins and a white background Bumble Bee on white, grass-like flowering plant

Fuller Garden is open from Mothers’ Day in May through mid-October, every day of the week, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with last tickets sold at 5:00 p.m. Tickets cost $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and people in groups of more than 10, $8 for student, $6 for children under 12, and $0 for babies. Non-service dogs are not permitted on the grounds. All paths except for the bottom of the Front Garden are accessible to those using a wheelchair, and information on how to best navigate the gardens are available on the website. If you are visiting the Greater Portsmouth area and want to spend a relaxing couple of hours among the flowers, this is an ideal stop.

A nearly perfect pink rose A round, pale pink rose A pink rose with two rose buds about to bloom



Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 9/10

Accessibility: 8/10



Location: Fuller Gardens, 10 Willow Ave, North Hampton, NH 03862, USA