The 32nd Annual Spring Garden Tour, sponsored by the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County takes place on Saturday, June 15 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, June 16 from 1-6 p.m.
This year’s tour features two public educational gardens and four private gardens located from the North Shore to Hixson and Red Bank. Tickets for the entire tour are $20, good for both days, and can be purchased on the day of the event at any of the gardens on the tour. Proceeds from the Spring Garden Tour benefit educational and scholarship programs sponsored by the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County.
For updated information, visit http://mghc.org/32nd-annual-spring-garden-tour/.
Holly Colf, 32nd Spring Garden Tour chair and long-time master gardener, said, “The 2019 Spring Garden Tour features outstanding examples of homegrown horticulture in our community. Each garden represents a work of art and a passion for nature, as well as a display of individual creativity and expertise. These gardeners have created unique and personal natural settings demonstrating how sculpture and artifacts, water features and stonework can be combined with a variety of plantings to create beautiful and relaxing landscapes filled with surprises. This year we have selected four private and two public educational gardens in and around Red Bank, Hixson and the North Shore areas. We hope you will enjoy these unique displays and come away with an appreciation of the work that went into them, as well as some ideas to take home for your own back yards.”
32nd Annual Spring Garden Tour:
Betty & Dan Smith, 150 Truan Dr., Hixson
Betty Smith’s gardens have evolved steadily over the past 40 years that she and her husband, Dan, have lived in their Hixson home. Featuring azaleas, lilies, zinnias, dahlias, hydrangeas, and a variety of other plants, Betty’s gardens are a rainbow of color and a testament to the fact that there aren’t many plants she doesn’t like! The area around the house includes full-sun and shade areas, flat border beds, a small kitchen garden, and the focal point, a terraced hillside garden with a vine covered archway. Whimsical sculptures and a fairy garden are placed artfully throughout the many flowering plants and trees. Betty is excited to share her love of gardening with you!
Hat Chau, 5797 Taggart Dr., Hixson
This landscape artist has transformed his unusually configured property off Hixson Pike into a unique oasis filled with an amazing variety of plants. Pillar-shaped palms, feathery Japanese maples along with dwarf conifers, and boxwood topiaries create a strong backdrop for many varieties of hydrangeas, daylilies, ferns, seasonal perennials and colorful annuals. From the front entrance mixing hardscape and individual planters filled with a variety of vegetables and flowering plants, enjoy the surprises contained in this amazing garden!
Alpine Crest Elementary School Outdoor Learning Center & Garden, 4700 Stagg Road, Red Bank
Alpine Crest Elementary School’s Outdoor Classroom and Gardens provides a unique opportunity for their students to increase the quality, quantity, and benefit of outdoor experiences. The different areas for learning include a registered butterfly garden, raised beds with vegetables and herbs, a bird feeding station, and an orchard, along with nearby picnic tables and a large pavilion for outdoor learning. In addition, the woodland classroom offers nature trails for exploration and observing wildlife, native plants and trees. A Hamilton County Master Gardener project since 2014, Alpine Crest earned a State of Tennessee Search for Excellence Award in 2018.
Carl & Lynn Pendergrass, 4016 Norwood Ave., Red Bank
Carl and Lynn Pendergrass moved into their Norwood Avenue home in 1980. At the time, the garden was non-existent. Over the years, Lynn endeavored to build a garden filled with unusual plants. Today, among other things, you will find Black Bamboo, Hellebores in many colors, variegated Holly, Harry Lauder’s walking stick tree, River Birch, and a Dragon tree. Also in the garden are some of Carl’s copper creations, gazing balls, other yard art, a variety of shade loving perennials and fish ponds. Come to this garden to discover new and interesting ideas for your own urban garden.
Cate Mueller, 1012 Hanover St., Chattanooga
The mature landscaping surrounding Cate Mueller’s North Shore home was planted by her mother more than 50 years ago and is now lovingly tended by her daughter. This shade garden features many varieties of daylilies, hostas and astilbe along with perennials and annuals for additional summertime color. Of special interest are the stone-enclosed raised beds marked by strips of terra cotta tiling, a repurposing from the old roof. Also note the various eye-catching planters and other charming statues hidden among the plantings. Enjoy the imagination and skill that went into creating this beautiful space!
GPS Teaching Garden, 218 Island Ave., Chattanooga
The Teaching Garden at the Girls Preparatory School was established over 5 years ago to increase awareness of and provide for communities in Chattanooga living in “food deserts,” areas with limited access to fresh produce. Students in the Environmental Science class learn to grow and nurture a variety of vegetables and herbs from seeds started in their greenhouse and then planted outside in raised beds, aiming for a fall to late winter harvest. Current crops include tomatoes, peas, watermelon, basil, mint, and beans, as well as carrots, okra, zucchini and eggplants. In the summer/fall of 2018, GPS donated 417 pounds to the food bank and used about 50 pounds in GPS’s own kitchen.
