The 2017 Open Gates to Blue Grass Living Tour will be held on Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4. Gardens will be open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday, and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sunday. Gardens open on this year’s tour include:
- 464 Lemon Drop Lane
- 424 West Third Street
- 164 East Bell Court
- 137 Edgemoore Drive
- 867 Edgewater Drive
- 908 Tearose Drive
- 1290 Standish Way
- 550 Cave Spring Road (Jessamine County)
- Bonus: Tour the gardens of Ashland Terrace, 475 South Ashland Avenue.
Tickets can be purchased at any of the sites on the day of the tour, in advance at the following garden retail shops: King’s Garden Center, Michler’s Best of Flowers, Springhouse Gardens, or from any Garden Club Member. You may also contact Judy Royse at 276-1857 or 667-8294.
Have you ever caught yourself wanting to peek behind the garden gate into someone’s garden paradise? The Lexington Council Garden Clubs has held its Bluegrass Living Garden Tour event biennially since the 1960s. The tour showcases a number of diverse gardens from urban, suburban, and rural areas.
The LCGC choses gardens on the tours to represent a variety of landscapes and garden styles. While some of the landscapes may have been designed by professionals, others may have been designed by the homeowners themselves. A few features that participants have a chance to see on past tours include a rain garden, an urban garden with vertical garden elements, a fairy garden, and even a chicken coop.
Tour participants help the community through their ticket purchases. Proceeds from ticket sales fund scholarships for college students and beautification projects throughout Lexington. Scholarships are given to students majoring in horticulture and related fields such as landscape architecture, forestry, sustainable agriculture, and environmental studies. Funds also go towards grants given to those who wish to complete civic projects in Lexington. Past grants given for projects have included a Monarch Waystation for the Lexington Public Libraries, a vegetable garden for the Veterans Affairs Hospital, landscaping for the Hope Center and the Ronald McDonald House, the Markey Cancer Center Meditation Garden, and historic preservation at the Waveland State Historic Site and the Hunt Morgan House.
The tour is self-guided, but there are representatives from the LCGC at each site to guide participants and answer questions.