True confessions: Last Sunday was the first time I attended a Garden Conservancy Open Days tour.
It was all Lin’s idea. After reading an eye-catching article in the Los Angeles Times, my spousal support unit suggested we spend the a next Sunday in Pasadena, strolling other people’s gardens (without fear of getting arrested for trespassing). No way I could turn down an offer like that.
That’s what’s learned was so cool about Open Days, a program that, since 1995, has allowed folks like you and me – and about a million others – to wander through more than 3,000 private gardens around the country. It’s the perfect marriage: Visitors pick up ideas for their own gardens, meet lots of like-minded garden enthusiasts and talk to designers.
And the Conservancy benefits by raising money and increasing public awareness of their primary mission: “…preserving exceptional American gardens for the education and enjoyment of the public. We seek to develop and deepen public appreciation of gardens as integral elements of our national artistic and cultural heritage.”
One thing I like about garden tours is the opportunity to take a pazillion digital pictures and write blog posts about all the fun I had.
Here's the scoop on the rest of the tour at my Fine Gardening blog...click
7 comments:
Billy, thanks for your nice post and glad you finally had a chance to experience the Open Days Program. Upcoming Los Angeles date on May 8th if you're up for it!
Stephanie: thanks for your comment. It was a great tour. I would love to make the scene at the LA tour as well, but I have to be sitting behind my drum set having a hell of a great time in Santa Barbara. Rock n' roll always trumps gardens.
Sounds fun!!!
Wow, that's a very interesting thing to do- looking at other people's gardens and learning from them. I would love to do that. Thanks for sharing this info with us. I didn't know this could be possible. If given this chance, I'd like to look at the gardens and the garden storage sheds because I write about them.
Love the idea of being able to snoop, without looking snoopy.
I think the whole idea is great. Preserving gardens and increasing public awareness about gardens is important.
Can imagine these tours are very inspirational as well.
Annelie
Ooops, just noticed that you want to know where I'm writing from. Not sure if you mean www adress or geographic, but I'm writing from MA, zone 6 and I'm at www.natureasis.blogspot.com
Annelie, again...
Aren't open days great!
I'm sure you'll be going back for more!
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