Each year in early May, Pat Murphy has a few house guests over. Maybe more than a few.

The Dunbarton resident is using her house and yard to host the Dunbarton Arts and Garden Festival for the third consecutive year, bringing more than 40 vendors together over the two weekend event, which will take place Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, as well as the following weekend, May 10 and 11.

“The best part about the festival is the coming together of the artists and appreciators,” Murphy said. “Everybody comes here to present their works and people come to appreciate it, and it’s just a great energy.”

Artists and gardeners from across the state will come together to Murphy’s home on Route 13 in the center of Dunbarton to display and sell their creations.

“I spent a long time cleaning up for this event,” said Murphy with a laugh. “We’ll have entertainment and food, and it’s really nice. People like to come and stay for a while because it’s a pleasant atmosphere.”

Murphy balances her love for art and gardening, as she often creates concrete sculptures that are used in gardens. She said the two passions are easily combined.

According to Murphy, who graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, presenting artist creations is crucial to the creative process.

“Dunbarton has very much appreciated this event. It’s all positive for the community,” Murphy said. “It’s high-quality work, and people are really skilled and dedicated to what they do. People appreciate seeing things that people have dedicated their lives to making.”

In addition to taking in the vendors’ works, Murphy said customers can look forward to the car ride to the event as well. “For one thing, it’s a very nice drive to Dunbarton. It’s a scenic drive to a historic town. The quality of vendors is extremely high. I have some of the finest artists in the state coming here. It’s a nice way to spend the day,” she said.

To say the event goes on rain or shine would be an understatement, as two years ago the event went on despite the Mother’s Day floods, and Murphy said she still got a large crowd despite the weather.

“It was interesting because we still had customers come,” she said. “They came through flooded roads and their cellars were flooded. They were still here and still interested in the arts, and they were purchasing. It is important to people, they’ll come through a natural disaster.”