Garden Tours – Meet Locals in San Diego, Seattle++

May 19, 2014 | Updated: October 31, 2014 | By Elizabeth | Reply More

Garden tours allow travelers to go beyond privacy walls and enjoy an authentic view of a destination.

Garden tours are a great way to get to know a destination.

That thought occurred to me yesterday during my “shift” as a Plant Information Volunteer at the Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla. As I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before on this blog, La Jolla is the part of San Diego, California, where I live, work, and spend a fair amount of time maintaining the garden that surrounds our home.

Many La Jolla gardens include cozy sit spots.

Mind you, I’m not complaining. I pretty much love everything about gardening and that includes garden tours. Around this time of the year, nearly every neighborhood of San Diego organizes home and garden tours to raise funds for a worthy cause (and because it’s fun). The 2014 Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla, a fundraiser for the La Jolla Historical Society) was the 16^th annual.

This year seven gardens were open to ticketholders – and they were all beautiful in their own way. In addition to wonderful landscapes, guests enjoyed live music and attractive tabletop designs at each house.

Jacarandas are the official tree of the San Diego and bloom throughout the city.

Garden tours are perfect for travelers who want authentic – not touristy – contact with a destination because they provide opportunities to:

Meet local gardeners. As I watched yesterday, I overheard locals telling visitors about some of the unusual plants in the gardens. Our reliance on Australian (Kangaroo paws) and South African (Strelitzia, Clivia) native plants, as well as many varieties of succulents, reflects our low rainfall – less than 10 inches a year.
Learn to recognize the natives. Bougainvillea and Jacaranda are both native to South America, but they are used so extensively in San Diego gardens that they are considered natives. In fact, Jacaranda is the “Official Tree of the City San Diego.” The jacarandas on the Secret Garden Tour were in full bloom and many out-of-town guests were happy to know the names of the “beautiful purple trees” they had been seeing all over town.
Benefit from the kindness of strangers: Succulents are easy to grow from cuttings, and I noticed one generous homeowners snipping off pieces of plants for out-of-towners.
Take home new ideas (instead of another tee shirt). U.S. Customs officials can get down-right cranky about the importation of plant material, so I rarely (notice I didn’t say “never”) bring home cuttings from overseas trips. However, I almost always return with the names of plants scribbled in my notebook. Acanthus mollis and Phormium tenax are readily available in San Diego, but I’d never noticed them until I saw them growing everywhere in New Zealand. I also discovered the glorious Grevillea family in Australia and, once home, was able to locate several varieties that now occupy pride of place in my garden. I’m still looking for the pale yellow Clivea I saw at Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden in South Africa.
Get to know some architects. Connecting with the local culture in a destination usually includes being aware of the style of homes. Most garden tours distribute programs with descriptions of the houses, especially if they are historically significant. I was introduced to Irving Gill’s signature arches and columns on a long-ago Secret Garden Tour and then recognized them on several La Jolla landmark buildings. Ditto landscape architects, such as San Diego’s Kate Sessions.
The big surprise of the 2014 Secret Garden Tour? This charming patio -
innovatively furnished with re-purposed materials – surrounding a tiny bungalow.
See for yourself. “Everyone in La Jolla is super rich.” That’s what folks who don’t really know our community say (sometimes accompanied by an unattractive sneer). The truth is that lots of La Jollans are affluent, but others live in modest beach cottages that are cute, but not palatial. Anyone who attended the most recent Secret Garden Tour knows that. Among the seven houses: an 800 sq. ft. bungalow a block from a busy street and a 3.5 acre estate with an ocean view and more sports facilities than most resorts.
Hear the history. Why is San Diego home to so many eucalyptus trees? Ask a local to tell you about the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroad fiasco.
Feel connected. Authentic travel is all about feeling connected to a place – being part of it instead of looking at it from outside. Garden tours provide an opportunity to meet local people and learn something about their lifestyles. These visits also provide a good introduction to the history, horticulture, climate, and architecture of a destination.

BTW, if you can’t visit San Diego in the spring when most garden tours take place, San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly Quail Gardens) is a year round haven for horticulturally-inclined travelers.

Garden tours guests enjoy a glimpse into the lifestyle of local residents.

More garden tours

Spring and summer are great time for garden tours. Some good ones in the West are in San Clemente, California, Denver, Colorado, and Bainbridge Island, Washington. In Boston, I think you would enjoy the Beacon Hill Garden tour. There’s also a star-studded two-day garden event on Long Island in New York that sounds like a great opportunity to meet some very interesting people. Finally, take a look at the Garden Conservatory’s extensive list of Open Days in private gardens around the U.S.

Happy touring,

Elizabeth Hansen