Annual Garden Tour

My year is basically broken up into only TWO seasons: gardening and Christmas! I'm either looking forward to one or the other.

As soon as the holiday decorations are put away, I start getting excited about our annual garden tour put on every spring by our local Hospice organization. They do an amazing job of not only organizing the tour, but also including a mix of the sweet and humble garden spaces along with the more elaborate ones with plenty of WOW factor. This year's tour did not disappoint.

This was an amazing space perched sort of on a hilltop overlooking citrus orchards and miles beyond.

There were lots of succulents this year. This homeowner found a clever and eye-catching way to display some of their favorites using an old fountain.

This was a beautiful mass of bougainvillea lining a wall that lead to the garden's entrance.

This place used to be a nursery. It is now closed to the public. It's been sectioned off into several different garden spaces, including a large, flat entertaining space (with a tile dance floor), and is used mainly for weddings and receptions.

The homeowner did a great job of including this water feature in one corner of the yard. There were many California native plants and a sweet raised-bed vegetable garden, as well.

There were 5 gardens on the tour. Each one was set up with live music and an artist from a local pastel society colorfully depicting a section of the garden on canvas.

I think I could have spent the entire day at this garden. So peaceful and beautiful.

I liked all the little pockets of color in this garden. This bed was full of daylillies and annuals.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit a local garden or take part in a tour of several hand-picked spaces, you'll be so glad you did. You'll be encouraged and inspired to create something beautiful of your own.