It’s April, and that means garden tour season. This is when gardeners across the region open their gardens and invite the public to enjoy the fruits (sometimes literally) of their labor. Touring gardens is one of my all-time favorite things to do. I love to meet the gardeners and celebrate their successes as much as I enjoy seeing the gardens themselves.
Garden tours allow you to peek behind the gates and discover practical or clever solutions to use in your garden, and to be inspired by new plants, new approaches, beautiful art, and ways of using space that hadn’t occurred to you.
While being a garden tourist is great fun, it comes with responsibilities. Here’s my list of what to do—and what not to do—on garden tours.
DO:
- Be respectful of the gardens. Tour gardens are private properties. Stay on the paths and out of garden beds.
- Before you purchase tickets, confirm the gardens’ suitability for small children or people with physical limitations. Private gardens are not required to follow the same access rules as public places.
- Plan your day. Some tours include rest stops, lunch, and/or bathroom breaks. Others don’t. Do your homework and plan accordingly.
- Be mindful about where you park. Hundreds of people visiting a neighborhood for more than just a few hours can wreak havoc with parking and crowding. Be sensitive to the residents so they welcome tours in the future.
- Shoot lots of photos for inspiration!
— Bring your phone with a portable charger (just in case).
— Bring a camera if you prefer to shoot that way. Remember your extra batteries. - Post your photos on social media during the tour. Use the hashtags suggested by the tour organizers.
- Ask questions of the garden’s owner or designer. Gardeners love to talk about their gardens and their most recent fabulous plant finds.
- Compliment the gardener or garden owner.
- Pay attention to the pace of visitors around you. If you like to take your time, make way for others passing you by. If you are on a tight schedule, be considerate as you pass through.
- Follow directions, arrows, and requests from the tour volunteers.
- Wear a hat, comfortable shoes, and sunscreen. Bring a water bottle.
Valuable Tips:
- Follow the tour map backwards. Everyone starts at the first garden listed, making it the most crowded. To avoid crowds, start with the last garden and make your way back to the first.
- Turn around as you walk through a garden. You see the space the way you face it. Look in the opposite direction for a totally different and valuable perspective.
DO NOT:
- Criticize the garden or the gardener.
- Bring your dog or other pets. Leave them home in your garden.
- Pinch a plant cutting or take seeds from a garden (or anywhere else for that matter). If a gardener offers you a cutting, arrange to come back after the tour so other visitors don’t see you and think it is open season on that plant.
- Step into a garden bed to take a photo. And don’t set up a tripod in a garden bed.
- Return to the garden after the tour without an invitation. When the tour is over, it’s over.
After the Tour:
- Visit the website of the host organization to thank them publicly.
- Review your photos. Scrap the blurry ones and label the good ones with keywords so you can find them later.
- Post your best images on social media and tag the organization.
- Garden owners appreciate being thanked as well. Thank them on the host organization’s website or social media.
- Print a card of your favorite photo from each garden. Inscribe each card and mail it to the owner as a thank you.
- Donate to the host organization. Most host organizations are nonprofits or other charitable organizations that support school gardens, scholarships, etc. Your contribution helps them do that work. It also helps them cover the costs of the day.
- Volunteer to help with next year’s tour.
Garden tours are great, and even better when you follow these tips to be a respectful garden visitor!
