Planning your own garden party tour

Jeanie has tips for an ‘open garden day’ of your own!

Jeanie Merritt, of Madison County, Ohio, has planned and held garden tours each year and has attended many!  She gives us her tips and ideas for planning a fun garden event, big or small, of your very own!

I love my friends and family and I love my gardens. Plain and simple. Oh, and I also like to entertain.

A few years ago I decided that it would be exciting and fun to combine these three elements of my life and hostess a small garden party/tour. You don’t have to be fancy ( or you can be if you want), you just have to have a love of your gardens and the desire to share.

I planned my first garden tour about four years ago and each year I have added to, learned from, and added a few things as well as taken others completely out. It’s been fun each and every time!

A small garden, a big massive garden, it just doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is the fun . Oh yes… and the delight of showing off the fruits of your labor.

I started in January with Phase #1  of my planning.   The snow was falling at my central Ohio home and  with my hoe and fertilizer put away it proved to be the perfect time to set up the details.

First,…deciding on a date

Last year I knew I wanted to gladly present my beautiful annuals and other perennials but showcase my daylilies. By looking back  in my garden journal at pictures that I had taken the two previous years, I knew my daylilies would be blooming most likely the second week of July. O.K. Now I have a plan.  July it will be!

So I sent out notes to some of my friends that I would be having this party/tour sometime in  July and they were invited to come.. Others I called. I also told them I would follow up with an actual date and time later on. Now I’m committed! Reminder: Avoid the time of your county fair or graduations  or local events that your friends will be too busy to come.

Once you make a list of people you would like to invite, when they rsvp, put a star beside their name…  So…, I have set my date. July 21. Mark those calendars!

 

 

Planning new garden plantings

I lay out my garden beds on paper and plan to fill in areas where I know perennials will have come and gone.  I plan to purchase annuals once they enter the nurseries and I note that in my planning book.

 

Mandevilla vines have never, ever let me down and there’s one in my iris bed.  This is a beautiful vining yellow one with a ladder nearby to climb.

Containers planted with succulents are wonderful accents  What kind of containers? Anything that holds dirt, such as these children’s tennis shoes purchased at a thrift store for 25 cents!  These types of ‘ garden accents” will captivate your guest’s attention. They also add whimsy to your gardens which everyone will love to see.

 

 

I look at my gardening magazines and catalogs for perennials that will add color and  be blooming during the tour..

May I suggest adding Coreopsis, Speedwell, Petunias, Million Bells and Rose Moss? Research them if you are not familiar, to see what they look like and if they can fit your needs.

 

 

I also begin to look for “props”.. things that add continuity to the color and the flow of my gardens… Like in the picture where I placed a purple polka dotted pillow in a white chair next to a purple flowering clematis…  And Look for watering cans in the spring yard sales locally….They add interest and garden glamour sitting on a chair or hanging on a fence…

 

Guest list reminders

I reminded my neighbors, friends, relatives and on social media. People are hearing the buzz. That’s important! About one month before my garden tour I will start asking if they are planning on coming… And then I mark a star beside their name on a list… This helps with not only an idea of who is coming but helps with food quantity planning.

 

Menu planning and garden spiff-up

I have had a few garden tours without food and they turned out just fine. I have had the last three with food and they were terrific!  I don’t need to tell you how much food makes a gathering more successful. It can be as much as you are willing to do, or easy and simple.

One year I had pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw in a help-yourself crockpot style..  My menu choices this year will be homemade blueberry muffins, chicken salad with crackers, lots of homemade cookies and Iced tea, coffee and water. Don’t be shy to ask a friend or two to help or a willing husband. Invite people to sit at your table (inside or out)  This will make them feel comfortable and welcomed.

 

 

 

Each year my tour is  different, and this year my Casa Blanca Lily should be in full bloom at that time..( at least the last 4 years it has) When blooming, it showcases itself, as you can see… but if you have “bare” spots in your garden where a perennial has already bloomed and gone..do remember that you can put a container plant in that spot or a garden ” whimsy” of some type to add color and interest…

 

I found these colorful Chinese lanterns at the dollar store one year and put several throughout my garden on poles to add contrasting color… garden signs, scarecrows, garden people, etc also grasps visitors attention and makes the tour fun!

 

This is my outside patio… fenced in ( but I leave the gate open on this day) It says HOME, don’t you think? And if you’ll notice everything is in a pot or a container in this area( except for the climbing clematis that has already bloomed.) These plants can all be tended to and nurtured very easily on a daily basis.. Who wouldn’t want to hang around here for awhile?

 

Remember this…  ENJOY… Have a tour for friendship and for love of gardening, whether it be for 4 invited friends for dinner at 6 P.M. , or an all day open house for your garden club or everyone you know.. share your love and include some good food!

Happy gardening, Jeanie

 

These pictures include ones of my daylilies that were blooming on my garden tour day last year and a few other points of interest.