MARCELLUS - Nearly 2,000 visitors were enticed by the nice weather to visit Hanford's Sycamore Hill Gardens in Marcellus on Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day.

Families spent the day touring the 35-acre estate while enjoying the creative work that George and Karen Hanford put into their private gardens.

The gardens were open to the public to help raise money for the 180-acre Baltimore Woods nature and education center in Marcellus.

“They are artists and their paints are their plants and their palette is this 35 acres,” said Patty Wies, executive director of the Baltimore Woods, as she spoke about the Hanford's gardens. “These are beautiful gardens and it's generous that the Hanfords opened them for Mother's Day.”

The Hanfords' work did not go unnoticed as patrons paused to reflect on the natural beauty to take pictures or to find inspiration.

“It's so beautiful here,” said Scott MacDonald, of King Ferry. “We came down here for Mother's Day and we got a lot of inspiration for our garden back home. The statuaries, the flat tree technique and the informal yet structured look here are all very nice.”

The casual atmosphere and the scenery even made the gardens a great place to enjoy a picnic while taking a break from walking expansive trails.

“This is better much better than sitting in a restaurant,” said Skaneateles resident Susan Warburton, as she enjoyed a quick family picnic. “It's very relaxing being outside with all these flowers.”

Susan, who was in attendance with her mother, Lucille Warburton, of Skaneateles, and her daughter, Elizabeth Tracy, of Auburn, said they decided to stop and eat next to one of the scenic ponds.

“(Lucille) said she was hungry so we decided this would be a good place to eat before we begin walking,” Tracy said.

Not a complaint was heard all day, even as the warm weather cooled off when the sun disappeared behind the clouds.

“It's a very gorgeous day, I couldn't ask for better weather,” said DJ Banwell, who was brought to the gardens by her family to celebrate Mother's Day. “It's not too hot, it's not too cold, it's the perfect outing for Mother's day.”

The high attendance, which was attributed to the great weather, gave Wies hope that the fundraiser could raise just as much money as last year.

The Baltimore Woods relies on fundraisers such as the Hanfords' tour to raise money for its nature education center.

“Fundraisers like this support our maintenance, staff and heat for the facility,” Wies said. “We are not part of the town, county or state government, so tax dollars do not support our business. Last year, we raised around $14,000.”

In addition to the scenery, part of the tour's appeal was visitors got to take a little part of the gardens home with them if they completed a scavenger hunt when they finished their tour.

The scavenger hunt allowed patrons to pick any flower they wanted for every item they found on the list. The goal was to have every flower picked by the end of the day.

“These are all spring flowers, so the next warm day they will all be gone,” Wies said as she explained deadheading, which is the process of cutting off the dead bulbs from all of the flowers. “By letting everybody pick the flowers, (the Hanfords) are saving themselves some work while sharing the garden.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net