Historic gardens around the state are offering special events and activities from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday as part of Connecticut Historic Gardens Day.

At Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, visitors can chat with park staff and Friends of Harkness volunteers about the site, and they can take a tour of the gardens designed by one of America's first female landscape architects, Beatrix Farrand, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (for a suggested donation).

At the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, folks can visit the gardens that inspired Lyme Art Colony artists. And Ellen Hoverkamp will demonstrate how she creates images of plants and flowers by arranging botanical cuttings and natural objects on a large-format flatbed photo scanner. Her talk begins at 2 p.m., and there is a $7 fee. (At Flo Gris, grounds admission is free; regular admission applies for historic house and gallery.)

At the Shaw Mansion in New London, people can ask questions of the staff, walk through the historic garden and get a package of heritage seeds to take home.

The Garden Days events are held rain or shine. Visit cthistoricgardens.org for more information.