RE: California garden tours

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My favorite is the Going Native Garden Tour  (www.gngt.org) here in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties in SF Bay Area.

It’s held in April (4/17/2011).  It’s free via online registration.  It’s sustainable – you download the maps and descriptions and only print what you need.  It’s fully supported by local water agencies and other organizations including the NorCal Branch of the Mediterranean Garden Society and the UCCE Master Gardeners.  It’s fully operated by volunteers who love what they do.  The gardens run the gamut from tiny to huge, from imitating native settings to formal, from funky to high end design, from 50% native to 100% native.  There are at least 40 (up to 60) gardens to pick from and they are clustered so you don’t spend lots of time driving from one to the next.  In addition to the tour and all the helpful docents and owners full of information, the website itself has photos and info from past tours and good resource links for more information about designers, plants, invasive plants and more.

It’s been going since 2003 and I was one of the people who helped found it and I am so proud of what it has become.

Cheers,

Bracey

San Jose

For those members who live in (or visit) California, what are your favorite springtime garden tours and why do you like them?