I love spring everywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden.
” Ruth Stout
The first Secret Garden Tour of Old La Jolla was held on a very warm spring day in 1999. Blossoming into its eighth year, the tour has become a much-anticipated perennial event and a wonderful way to greet springtime in La Jolla. Presented by the La Jolla Historical Society, the tour showcases gardens from La Jolla’s past as well as gardens that are as fresh and new as springtime.
The garden tour not only draws attention to La Jolla’s beautiful gardens, but also to its diverse architectural styles and the history of its neighborhoods. The La Jolla Historical Society is able to present the tour each year due to the generosity of a growing number of La Jolla gardeners, who open their garden gates each spring and share their passion for gardening and their home’s history with others.
This year’s tour promises to be another memorable experience that will include several homes and gardens dating back to the 1920s, when many of La Jolla’s neighborhoods were first developed. While the “secret gardens” need to be kept under wraps until the day of the tour, the following is a sneak preview and a glimpse into what springtime in La Jolla has in store for those who decide to take the tour.
The 2006 tour will take you through the La Jolla neighborhoods of the Muirlands, Barber Tract, Ludington Heights, Village and Upper and Lower Hermosa. There will be charming cottage gardens that capture the whimsy of the English countryside as well as stately homes boasting their original, mature landscape. One of the gardens was designed by San Diego’s pioneering horticulturist Kate Sessions. The original trees date back to the 1920s and include macadamia nut, cork and a unique monkey puzzle tree. The only other monkey puzzle tree I know of in La Jolla is on the grounds of The Bishop’s School and it was also planted by Miss Sessions.
Another featured garden is not only home to beautiful plants and flowers, but also a small family of turtles, who even have their own “garden house.” Some of the gardens will be bursting with spring flowers and roses, while others are filled with lush tropical plantings and greenery. Alfred Austin once said; “I am quite of the opinion that a garden should look as though it belonged to a house and the house as though it were conscious of and approved of the garden.” In all, the homes and secret gardens on this year’s tour look as though they belong and approve of each other.
La Jolla began as an artist colony, with its roots deeply entrenched in all aspects of the arts, and today, the Secret Garden Tour continues this tradition by not only celebrating the artistry of garden and architectural design, but also the painted works of artists, designers’ decorative touches and beautiful music. To emphasize the joys of our coastal environment, designers embellish the gardens’ outdoor living spaces and create special settings that are sure to give you a bouquet of ideas for entertaining outdoors. Local artists will be capturing the garden scenes on their canvases and the paintings will be offered for sale ” a great opportunity to add a little Secret Garden delight to the walls of your own home. Adding to the celebration and ambiance, music will be provided in each garden throughout the day by a variety of talented musicians.
The Secret Garden Tour will take place on Saturday, May 20. For recorded ticket information, call (858) 726-0227.
If you have any gardening questions, contact Linda at [email protected], subject: Garden Questions.