General Information:
*****Tickets Are On Sale Now******
We will have 6 beautiful gardens to visit this year, and you may start at any garden you choose. The tour is self guided to allow you to set your own pace and visit all of the gardens throughout the weekend. As with previous years, each of the gardens are unique, while honoring this year's theme! Master gardeners will be on hand should you have any questions at the gardens on the tour.
Price of admission to the Garden Tour is $10.
Children 16 and under are FREE.
**Garden Tour Tickets can be purchased on the home page of our website and at the following locations:
Parkview Nursery
2 Riverside Locations
3841 Jackson St.
4377 Chicago Ave.
Wild Birds Unlimited
10456 Magnolia Ave.
Riverside (west of Tyler)
Louie’s Nursery
16310 Porter Ave.
(at Van Buren) Woodcrest
Mrs. Tiggy-Winkles
3675 Main St., Riverside
**Tickets can also be purchased on site both days of the event at the Riverside Elks Lodge**
Elks Lodge
6166 Brockton Ave., Riverside
Gardens open 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sat & Sun, April 26-27.
Enjoy a Look at this year's gardens!
A Walk on the Wild Side
Have you thought of removing your lawn and need inspiration? Do you envision a garden that creates a habitat for wildlife? California native plants are calling to you and Sharon’s California native garden will provide inspiration for your gardenscape. Her garden is visited by butterflies, songbirds, foxes, coyotes, and many raptors that are in search of squirrels, rabbits, and other small critters! Sharon’s garden was completed in two stages, beginning with the removal of her front lawn in 2012. Here you will find mature sage and buckwheat shrubs, giving you an idea of how large some of these plants can grow. The backyard was created 3 years ago with a California desert theme in mind, and thus here you will find younger plants. Although these plants are only 3 years old, with the previous year’s wet winters, many of these plants have grown astronomically. This past fall the shrubs were cut back to decrease the risk of fire that is always a threat living so close to the riverbed. This has also enabled the garden to look more as originally envisioned and to allow other plants that were obscured by overgrowth to fill in.
Inspired by her love of native plants and the outdoors, she wanted the garden to have a feel of taking a nature hike without leaving home. In the backyard there is a waterfall that cascades into a pond surrounded by purple sea lavender. An arbor covered with trumpet vine provides nectar for hummingbirds. Walking through or around the arbor, the visitor’s choice, you pass through Chaparral, the most prevalent plant community in Riverside. Here you will walk along Ceanothus sp (California lilac), California fuschia, and various species of sage and monkeyflowers. Passing the citrus and hiking up to the furthermost area of the garden you arrive at what Sharon refers to as “the mountains.” Here you will find Pine trees that were planted 40 years ago by a previous family. The shade canopy creates a temperature that is 10-15 degrees cooler, allowing for a reprieve from the heat of the late afternoon sun. Sharon enjoys visiting the top of the hill year round to sit and smell the pines (and pepper trees). In the winter the citrus, such as a heavy producing tangerine, provide fruit a plenty, while in the spring the blossoms provide a wonderful fragrance. Neighboring avocado trees also provide many fruit to be enjoyed.
Favorite spots in the garden are sitting on the patio and watching the ever changing variety of birds drinking at the waterfall, resting in the treetops, and scouring the ground for seeds. The best part of the walk, other than seeing how every plant is taking shape, is walking between the two trees whose canopies have met over the pebble path and offer cooling shade. Sharon is thrilled to have her garden on the tour and hopes that it inspires people to plant California native plants and see the beauty in having a grass free yard. Enjoy a walk on the wild side!
Relaxing Garden Sanctuary with Koi Pond and Waterfalls
Imagine a cool and lush private garden filled with a variety of trees, plants and a relaxing koi pond amidst the hustle and bustle of Riverside, and you have the beautiful backyard oasis that is the inspiration of Larry and Debby Leverett. The Leveretts have made this garden their labor of love since purchasing the house 36 years ago. Larry and Debby visited many botanical gardens and arboretums over the years to gain insight for their garden design. As you approach their beautiful home on a very quiet street, you will see an immaculately cared for front yard with a multitude of plants, all harmoniously blended together to make a stunning presentation. Shade loving ferns and hydrangeas are planted close to the house, while sun loving agapanthus and salvias peek out from the periphery of the garden beds.
Entering the garden on the left side of their home, you are greeted by a shady avocado tree and multiple bird feeders, as they enjoy their many feathered friends. The large walk in greenhouse is home to a variety of orchids and other humidity loving plants. The gazebo in the corner, described as their favorite spot to relax in their yard, provides a full view of everything they have planted and maintained over the years. Their philosophy has been to plant something and care for it for the long term, as is evident by the height of their trees and the lush plants throughout. There are many mature leafy trees in the yard that were planted many years ago. See their citrus grove, which consists of 6 citrus trees and a comprehensive vegetable garden which is situated along the other side of the yard. This garden has so much variety ranging from 11 rose bushes, exotic plumeria, succulents, ferns, and a variety of perennials.
Not to be missed is the stunning koi pond with water as clear as a mountain lake and the many friendly koi fish that reside there. The pond started out as a much smaller water feature, but Larry had a vision, and through his knowledge of ponds and koi fish keeping, he developed the pond into the beautiful centerpiece it is now. Their favorite pastimes are sitting in the gazebo, relaxing and listening to the waterfall and watching the birds and koi. With the beauty and tranquility they experience, they know there is peace and joy in the world. Won’t you come and join them?
Leanne Austin’s Garden
Leanne moved into her home 23 years ago, and has created the garden she has always imagined. You will find her garden is whimsical with a “Whoville” feel. She has a 40 year history of landscaping with drought tolerant plants and has a true eye for design. Drip irrigation is used to water the plants on her ½ acre property, and she has carefully selected plants that thrive on minimal water. The front yard which consists of a variety of succulents and perennials leads into a courtyard with a beautiful pond, lending to Leanne’s appreciation of Japanese gardens. Continuing along the paved stone pathway through to the large backyard reveals a sparkling pool and spa. The stone edged spa is surrounded by King palms and has a waterfall that spills into the pool. On the foreground bursting with color are orange Tecoma and red bottlebrush shrubs.
Having the love for large mature trees with interesting bark, Rhus lancia (African sumac), was planted. This tree was used in place of giant oaks which take a long time to reach maturity. Other plants found on the property include a dragon tree, several different ponytail palms, Canary Island pines, crepe myrtles, a strawberry tree, lemon tree, and a variety of grevillea. More recently in the past 8 years, succulents have been added to the garden, both in the ground and in pots. The variety of succulents is quite immense, and Leanne has had fun experimenting with creating microclimates for them.
The highlight of the landscape is a beautiful outside kitchen with gas and charcoal barbecues. The area is also complete with a sink and refrigerator. Where trees do not provide shade, sail shades were added to give relief from the summer heat. There is a place to relax alongside a fireplace as well as various seating areas throughout the garden. Leanne doesn’t often have time to sit and enjoy the garden, but she loves to walk through the paths at different times of the day and appreciate the different ways the light changes the viewer’s perspective. She would love for people to take away a sense of peace and whimsy, along with the ease of adherence to a drought tolerant landscape. Most importantly, Leanne hopes that her garden will teach the visitor that by removing a lawn, you don’t have to sacrifice a lush landscape. There are many waterwise plants that can be utilized in the garden instead of merely replacing grass with rocks.
The Prickly Pad
If you’re a cactus and succulent buff or perhaps looking to start a food forest, or maybe both are of interest, then the Bichler’s garden is sure to satisfy your senses! Responding to climate change and the need to conserve water, they converted most of their garden into a drought tolerant desert garden. Their work began by removing the grass lawn in their large corner lot front yard. Their next step was getting to work acquiring various cacti, and succulents along with installing DG to act as a weird barrier between plants. Some plants were purchased from wholesale and local nurseries, while many came from rooted and donated cuttings from members of the community. To allow the propagation of plants from cuttings, the conversion was completed in 4 stages taking place over the span of 3 years. Many visitors are surprised to see how wonderfully colorful cacti and succulents are when they are in bloom, especially when compared to that of a green lawn.
The Bichlers have lost track of the number of succulents and cacti, but plans are in the works to catalogue the collection. There are over 10 species of agave, opuntia (prickly pear),
euphorbia, aloe, echeveria, kalanchoe, and mammillaria. There are also many types of aeonium, cereus (night blooming cacti), torch cacti, barrel cacti, ocotillo, crassula, and sedum.
Several are well on their way to reaching the size of large trees, such as false saguaro and Argentine toothpick cactus. In fact, with the previous year’s record rainfall, many plants have reached sizes that were unpredictable.
The other inspiration for the Bichler garden is healthy living. Water usage is spared in the desert garden so it could be utilized in their food forest along with raised vegetable beds. They are focusing on gardening for fresh air and exercise, with the goal of eating non-GMO produce that they grow themselves. They have a wide variety of fruit trees on the property including 2 pomegranate trees, 3 peach trees, 10 citrus, 2 plums, 5-7 olives, an apple, pineapple guava, fig, dragon fruit loquat, as well as grape vines. Despite the large amount of fruit trees in the garden, the Bichlers still consider the food forest and vegetable beds a work in progress. The Bichlers hope that their garden will demonstrate that you are capable of creating your very own garden by yourself. All you need are some starter plants, a wheelbarrow, shovel, and a plan.
Cheryl’s Garden at Villa de Pavino
In 1975 Robert along with his wife Cheryl purchased the Charles Miller home which was built in 1929 on the rocky spine of an acre of land above Rockledge Park. They imagined this Spanish architectural designed home clinging to a rocky cliff along the Mediterranean Coast of Southern Italy, which served as inspiration for their landscape. The property was surrounded by mature trees: stone pine, oak, eucalyptus, jacaranda, olive, pepper, cypress and a variety of over fifty palm trees. Otherwise much of the property was devoted to a natural landscape of agave, cactus, juniper, various grasses, bougainvillea, succulents and vinca. Several mature fruit trees that are enjoyed are lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, avocado and paraquat.
True to their vision for the property, they set about paving many of the old stairways and terraces with terracotta tiles. The home itself was returned to its original design with some appropriate upgrades. They learned that in earlier times, the property had often been visited by peacocks that roamed freely in the area, and thus they decided to purchase Frank and Elenore, a peacock couple that lived with them for many years. In 2002 grandchildren came into their lives and Cheryl decided to build Villa Grande; a children’s playhouse, in the center of the property below the home. They subsequently developed the property around it into an Amalfi Garden. Ruben Flores of Visionscape, Laguna Beach was commissioned to work on the garden and it came to life with wandering flagstone pathways, additional terraces with a place to sit and enjoy the surprisingly different views of the garden made possible by the undulating rocky terrain.
Ruben also introduced fountains, historic benches, colorful plantings, and flowering trees and taught us an appreciation for the changing life of an old garden. The idea was to create a garden that went with the vintage look of the home, as if it had always been there. The grandchildren enjoyed their own villa and, together they shared many adventure walks through the garden. Over time Robert has come to appreciate the interesting rock skeleton of the property and finds that it contributes as much as any plantings to its beauty. Every morning when he wakes up from the highest room in the house, he first gazes out the window at Villa Granna and the contrasting waves of green against the rock below. Cheryl is no longer with us but her creative vision for the old garden takes on a new life year after year.
The Craftsman Garden
Darrell and Debra Jensen’s historic 1 acre property in Canyon Crest was originally part of the Monte Vista Nursery. This nursery specialized in citrus stock and once occupied 200 acres. When the property was acquired in 2004 there was only 1 remaining Valencia orange tree, and thus 23 fruit trees were planted which include various citrus, avocado, apple, peach, apricot, Asian pear, fig and pomegranate trees.. Although the vast citrus grove that once occupied the area did not survive, there are 7 coast live oak and 3 cork oaks that remain on the property, predating the 1912 home. In the front yard, under the shade of the oaks is a heart shaped koi pond that is original to the property. This pond was built by the owner of the Monte Vista Nursery and was presented as a wedding gift for his son and new wife.
The landscape has been a work in progress continuously for 21 years and it has taken about 6 years for the first areas to feel finished. Terracing of the property was done working with the natural contours of the property utilizing native and existing materials. Since this was a working citrus nursery, some of the original concrete U-ditch gravity irrigation was recovered and used to terrace planting areas. Natural stone was also uncovered and salvaged and used throughout the gardens. A brick pathway was added from bricks recycled and transported from Debra’s parents’ Los Angeles area home. The first areas of the landscape to be completed were the Memorial Garden and Kitchen Garden. The memorial rose garden, Debra’s favorite place in the garden, was started in 2004 when a friend gifted Debra 6 rose bushes upon the death of her beloved father. More roses were added to this area, including hybrid teas, floribundas and climbing roses. Currently there are over 150 roses, including approximately 40 historic Ragged Robin roses (the roses you see along Victoria Avenue). Darrell and Debra have been propagating these roses over the years with the vision to create a path that lines the driveway.
The Japanese Garden in the front of the garden was inspired by tours of several public gardens, including Huntington Gardens in Pasadena and the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon. The location was suggested by the large boulders that were native to the property and provided the framework. Unfortunately the Riverside heat made this area a challenge and many of the selected plants typical for a Japanese Garden did not survive, thus this garden area has been reworked several times. Although only the hardscape remains as originally planned, new plants exist in the framework today that do not require as much water. The Jensen’s hope visitors feel serenity in the park-like setting and informal structure of the gardens, and appreciate the wildlife they welcome to their space.
Do you have a beautiful garden you might be willing to share? We are always looking for interesting gardens to have on our garden tour. Contact us to discuss your garden with a committee member.