Garden Peeks …
Like to peek over the fence?
Here is a listing of annual garden tours in & around Kentucky.
Be sure to check the year, as some may not yet have been updated.
MAY
4th Annual Rain Garden Tour May 22nd, 2011 from 1-4 pm in Lexington. The tour will begin at The Arboretum in Lexington on the U.K. campus, to visit the rain garden there, then progress to other sites, including Glendover Elementary School, two residential gardens in the Meadowthorpe neighborhood and another on Lynn Drive off of Harrodsburg Road. The Tracey Farmer Institute at UK is providing a van for anyone that would like to tour in a group, but there will also be maps on hand for those who wish to drive separately. Registration for this free tour is required at either Bluegrass PRIDE or the Bluegrass Rain Garden Alliance.
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Lexingtons Ashland Park Historic District 2011 May 23, 2-5. The Ashland Neighborhood Association, sponsors of the 2010 Porch & Garden Tour, takes in the eastern part of the Ashland Park Neighborhood Association and the western part of the Ashland Neighborhood Association. Contact 859. 269.6067.
JUNE 2011
Glenview Garden Club: 2011 June 4 & 5, 10-5 rain & shine. Town and 
Country Garden Tour, benefiting the Parklands of Floyd’s Fork, 21st
Century Parks. A member of The Garden Club of America, this group presents six outstanding gardens in the Louisville area open to the public for the first time. Rooftop and wall gardens at downtown locations like the 21c hotel’s exclusive private penthouse, pictured at the left, and the Green Building, as well as a lovely cottage garden on a creek, another made for entertainin
g that includes an extensive herb and vegetable garden, and another that was recently made-over by a professional designer. Margie Schubert’s Southwind garden, at right, features a statue dedicated to her son Sam, and a rustic green terrace hung with gourds and a tall greenery gate. Tour $30; Tour & Lunch $45. Tickets, photos and details about the gardens? *click* here. Questions? Call 502.426.5042
For the blog post about this tour, CLICK HERE: Exclusive Access
Gates to ten different gardens in and around Lexington will open for visitors on this Bluegrass tour, which is a collaboration among nine different garden clubs. From the proceeds, grants are provided, which in past years included organizations like The Arboretum, library and school gardens, as well as scholarships for conservation and horticultural work. East Side, West Side, all around the town: you’ll see ponds, pool houses, fire pits, rose gardens, the UK President’s home at Maxwell Place, Kentucky native plants, container garden ideas, and a panoramic view of rolling Bluegrass hills and horses.The Frankfort/Franklin County Tourist Commission and the Garden Club of Frankfort will host the 5th annual home and garden tour on Saturday June 11, 2011 from 10 am – 5pm. This year, the annual Living in History tour features indoor and outdoor living spaces. Four historic homes in downtown Frankfort and three homes in the Two Creeks area will showcase unique and beautiful indoor and outdoor living spaces. For a complete write-up, CLICK HERE.
June 12, 2011
The Garden Tour will begin at Michler’s Gardens and Greenhouses at 417 East Maxwell Street, where maps and tickets will be distributed. Cost: $5. Info (859) 254-0383
218 Sycamore Road. Frank Becker invites to you come and see his micro-forest.
123 Wabash Drive. Ann Bowe’s garden is an almost lawn-free design with curving pathways and a water feature.
224 Leawood Drive. Betty Hall’s backyard includes sun and shade areas, a rain garden and plants for birds and butterflies.
The tour is sponsored by the lively and fun Lexington chapter of Wild Ones, a national organization that promotes landscaping with native plants. Join them!
For more information call (859) 278-7537 or (859) 278-0069.
Berea Garden Tour 2011 May 14 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. “Palettes of Passion and Creative
Expression”, this year’s Berea Garden Tour theme, provides an opportunity to experience how one’s own garden space can be used as an extension of personal interests, passions and self-expression. Sponsored by the Berea Arts Council, this 3rd Annual Garden Tour, Saturday, May 14th, from 9am – 4pm, is as much about the gardening ‘experience’ as the gardens themselves.
Novice and experienced gardeners alike, as well as people of all ages, will undoubtedly be infused with new ideas and be motivated to enhance or even initiate their own gardening experience with a new perspective. Eight unique gardens have been selected for their diversity, eclectic appeal and varied locations, reflecting the Arts Council ‘Art for Everyone’ mission.
Demonstrations at designated garden sites have been incorporated this year to additionally stimulate creativity:
- Dave Zurick unravels the mystery of bamboo, the attention it requires, and its creative potential as a gardening companion. (Noon at 102 Harrison St.)
- Alan Grainger, a British ‘transplant’ and seasoned alpine gardener, will demonstrate the use of hypertufa in creating planters, or ‘troughs’ as they are commonly called among British alpine gardeners. (10 & 2 at 405 Smith Lane)
- Transforming plants to paper will be demonstrated by Dorie Hubband and Heather Richardson, both known for their expertise and passionate papermaking artistry. (Ongoing from 10-3 at 203 Peachbloom Hill Rd.)
Berea Arts Council members have been busily dividing and repotting perennials from their own gardens to provide the Plant Sale, 406 Center St., with an abundance of treasured specimens. Used gardening references will also be offered, perhaps some interesting bits and pieces! Select items from the Berea Arts Council’s Gallery Exhibit, “Art for the Garden”, on display from April 29th through May 27th, will be featured at 1219 Vineyard Way. And to keep up one’s energy along the way, refreshments will be available at various sites.
To end the day’s tour Michelle Philpot will host a demonstration at 4:00 pm at The Potting Shed, “Creative Colors and Textures for Containers”, to ensure your hanging baskets, window boxes and planters reflect a stunning seasonal display.
Advance tickets ($10) are available at Berea Arts Council, 116 Main St. and The Potting Shed, 508 Richmond Road North, both in Berea. Tickets will be available the day of the Garden Tour at all garden site locations for $12. Participants will receive a Garden Tour Program, available at each site, which contains a map and garden descriptions, times and locations for all demonstrations and special events, as well as a page for notes that will certainly be filled by the end of the Tour. The Garden Tour Program is supported by businesses whose products and/or services help meet gardener’s needs, designed to be a useful resource for future reference.
Woodford County Womans Club 2011 May 14, 10-4. The Spring Tour is a project to raise funds for coats and Shoes for Woodford County Children and other club charities. The Woodford County Woman’s Club Garden Department is pleased to announce our Second Annu
al Spring Garden Tour, set for Saturday, May 14. The tour will showcase eight wonderfully diverse gardens and a charming historical home tour. Ticket holders will enjoy an opportunity to view the splendid gardens and grounds of Winstar Farm, home of last year’s Derby winner Super Saver. You will also visit the garden and grounds of a Blue Grass Trust home in old Versailles; featurer are unusual perennials set alongside a Koi pond and an artistic vegetable garden. 
Also on the tour are an heirloom cutting garden that embraces ancestral roses, and a landscape garden of outdoor rooms set amidst dry-laid stone walls along side a water feature incorporating an historic millstone. Another stop is a first floor tour of “Wincoma”, an historic Gothic board and batten home surrounded by gardens of perennials and annuals. In the gently rolling lands of Woodford County between Versailles and Midway, you will discover a formal garden with a circular rose garden and boxwood framed beds surrounded by a clipped yew hedge. You will visit a rustic organic vegetable, herb and flower garden in a farm setting busied by meandering peafowl and chickens. A country garden will be featured with an English style border swathed by a plant lover’s collection of extraordinary flowers and shrubs. Beyond the border you will view an imaginative vegetable plot and orchard. An attached conservatory for tropical plants defines the two small gardens with kitchen herbs and white themed plantings. Peonies, wild columbines, oriental dogwoods, vibrant antique roses, colorful iris, and heirloom tomatoes are samples of the many flowers and plants you will encounter on this tour. Advance Tickets are $15.00 and are available beginning April 1st thru May 13th at the following businesses: In Versailles: Corner Pharmacy Grill, Marketplace on Main, McDougal’s Garden Center, Woodford Feed, Damselfly; In Midway: Baskets from the Bluegrass, Le Marche; In Lexington: Michler Florist and Greenhouses, Artique at Lexington Green, Louis Flower Power Shop at Landsdowne Shopping Center. Advance tickets are also available beginning April 1st thru May 7th by mail: Woodford County Woman’s Club PO Box 1135 Versailles, Kentucky 40383. Tickets the day of the tour will be available for $20.00 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Little House 247 Lexington Street in Versailles. A portion of the proceeds will go to support the Coats and Shoes for Kids Project for Woodford County Children. This well known community effort has provided warm coats and shoes for children for twenty-five years. (Photos courtesy of Cynthia Fordon)
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