Personal Space GETTING THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE
BY ANITA CLEVENGER
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GARDEN JABBER
n Sacramento, nearly every backyard is shielded from view by a high fence. It drives me crazy. I’m from Ohio, where one backyard is open to the next, so I find the privacy of our backyards rather claustrophobic. Without getting a drone to fly overhead, a periscope to peer over fences, or outright trespassing, how do you see what’s behind the fences? Quite a few organizations in the Sacramento area sponsor garden tours in the spring and fall. This April and May, here are few that give you a chance to visit some of these mysterious gardens and see how the other plants live. On Saturday, April 9, California Native Plant Society’s Gardens Gone Native tour will feature approximately 20 Sacramento-area gardens that use at least 50 percent natives, and often more. Native-plant gardens are usually water efficient and wildlife friendly, buzzing with native bees and butterflies. Although the tour is self-guided, you may have an opportunity to talk with the people who garden and live there. The 30th annual Curtis Park Home and Garden tour takes place on Saturday, April 30. A fundraiser
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for Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association, it’s a must-see for people who love the eclectic architecture of this area. You get to tour both backyards and houses in this popular neighborhood. The day also features
music, food, and information tables in Curtis Park. A tradition for 18 years, the East Sacramento Garden Tour is a ritual for many on Mother’s Day weekend, which falls on May 7 and May 8 this year. Benefiting David Lubin
Elementary School’s enrichment program, the tour will feature seven gardens in the Fabulous Forties and nearby. Hungry? There will be food trucks and a Sweet Stop at the school. Not to be left out, the Land Park Garden Tour, Tea and Fine Arts Festival will be held Sunday, May 15, hosted by Holy Spirit School. You will get to tour gardens in yet another of Sacramento’s favorite neighborhoods and have tea in the park. Some of the gardens on these neighborhood tours are more about outdoor entertaining and garden decorations than about plants. That suits many people who love outdoor living and don’t want to spend much time digging in the dirt. If you are a hard-core gardener who wants to focus on plants, you can join a plant club with members who share your enthusiasm. The Sacramento Rose Society and Sacramento Perennial Plant Club sponsor tours to members’ home gardens. Once you get to know people in the club, you can invite someone to your garden and ask if you can see theirs, too. Of course, you can also get to know your neighbors and do the same. By visiting other peoples’ gardens, you not only satisfy your idle curiosity; you learn about plant and design possibilities, open opportunities for plant and crop exchanges, and make or deepen friendships. I’ve heard that you don’t really know a person until you have seen their garden. It takes some courage to show another gardener what your own garden looks like. My hat is off to GARDEN page 67