Sometimes it’s hard to envision whether a grouping of red-orange-yellow Kniphofia, more commonly called Red-hot Poker, will combine well with a show-stopping dark blue salvia. Or if a flagstone path will look good meandering through the middle of the lawn. What about a piece of art? Would it look better surrounded by plants or left on its own?
These questions and more are one reason for garden tours. Another is that you get to peek into places – other people’s backyards – not normally seen. And of course tours are a great way to get landscaping ideas, and in many cases, help out a good cause.
Here are a few of the upcoming garden tours in the area:
2005 Colorado Xeriscape Garden Tours
Denver: Saturday and Sunday ; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Boulder: June 25-26; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Colorado Springs: July 9-10: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sponsored by Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs Inc. and Colorado WaterWise Council, the fifth annual self-guided tours will show how homeowners conserve water in beautiful gardens.
Each tour includes six private gardens. Hostesses and expert gardeners will be at each tour stop to answer questions, and plants are labeled.
Tickets are $15 a person per city and are tax-deductible. They are available at all Front Range King Soopers and at several sites on tour days. For the Denver tour, tickets are at 905 S. Gaylord St. or 6308 S. Gallup Court in Littleton. In Boulder, buy tickets at 333 S. 68th St. or 3100 Galena Way; and in Colorado Springs, purchase tickets at 620 E. Espanola and 425 Columbia Road. For more information, visit coloradogardenclubs.org.
Terrace and Garden Tour
Fort Collins: June 18; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seven landscaped gardens in historic downtown and Old Town Fort Collins are on this self-guided tour, a fundraiser for the Junior League of Fort Collins.
Tickets are $15 and are available at several garden centers and nurseries. For a complete list, visit jlweb.org/fortcollins.
Washington Park Garden Tour
Denver: June 18; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Ten gardens, ranging from the urban to the whimsical and everything in between, are highlighted on this tour, which benefits the Diana Price-Fish Cancer Foundation.
The foundation is a nonprofit devoted to helping adult cancer patients enjoy life through social, cultural and recreational activities.
Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 on the day of the tour. To purchase, call 303-639-9110 or visit dpfcf.org to buy online. On the day of the event, buy tickets at 1439 S. Emerson Street.
Boulder County Blooms for Mental Health
Boulder: June 18 and June 19; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days
Fifteen homes will be open to the public, including a children’s enchanted garden, a rose garden, a landscape filled with heirloom white plants, a xeric garden and a certified wildlife garden. Seven of the gardens will host a designer discussing the landscaping.
The tour benefits the Boulder County Mental Health Foundation, which helps support the Mental Health Center serving Boulder and Broomfield counties.
Most of Saturday’s featured homes are outside Boulder city limits. That day’s seminars are Native Plants with Kathy Damas and Dave Sutherland at 10 a.m., Cottage Garden with Lawrie Wilson at noon, the Potten
Garden at Ella Magnusson’s at 2 p.m. and the Garden of Five Realms with Martin Mosko at 4 p.m.
Sunday’s showcased landscapes all are in Boulder. Seminars that day are Dushanbe garden at 10 a.m., a zoned garden with Karla Dakin at noon, roses with Ruth Roberts at 2 p.m. and shade gardens with Catherine Schweiger at 4 p.m.
Tickets are $20 per person for both days and can be purchased by contacting Kitty L. deKieffer at 303-413-6275 or kdekieffer@mhcbc.org.
Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program
Denver: June 25; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Six private gardens will be open to the public for the Open Days Program of the Garden Conservancy, a national event.
The tour this year includes an urban sanctuary reflecting Anglo-Japanese tastes of the Craftsman period; a family oasis with Japanese garden, rose garden, water garden and entertaining area; a woodsy haven in the middle of the city.
Visitors should begin the day at the first garden at 585 Franklin St. Admission to each garden is $5. For information, call The Garden Conservancy at 888-842-2442 or visit gardenconservancy.org/opendays.html.
Art in the Garden
Denver: June 26; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tour nine retreats where art, blooms and foliage mix perfectly in this year’s tour, a collaboration between the Colorado Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Walker Fine Art.
Begin the tour at 656 Lafayette St. Tickets are $14 per person and are available at area King Soopers or on the first day of the tour at the start garden. Landscape architects and sculptors will be at the homes to answer questions.
For more information on the tour, visit ccasla.org or call 303-830-6616; for more on the art displayed, visit walkerfineart.com or call 303-355-8955.
