After a three-year hiatus, the South Delta Garden Club is re-introducing an event that drew 500 Lower Mainlanders to South Delta in each of 2017 and 2019.
“When we broached the idea with people, we realized there was some pent-up demand for a garden tour and quite a bit of excitement at the idea of having another one,” stated Garden Tour Committee Chair, Susan Lilholt.
This year’s tour features two gardens with different Asian influences, one that invites meditation, and a yard whose co-owner learned techniques from working in Queen Elizabeth Park earlier in life. Three of the gardens are owned by resident artists and one by a forester.
Visitors will find unexpected ideas with plants grown in shade and other beds filled with sunny colour. One garden has a quiet palette and multiple leaf textures creating a tranquil oasis.
Still, another is grown as a cutting garden with creative ways to keep tall flowers upright and to capture water. The careful observer will spot unusual and artistic containers on display and ways to use vertical space.
The South Delta Garden Tour is a self-guided journey, which means people drive themselves to each Ladner or Tsawwassen location (or cycle, if they are up to it) using the maps on the ticket.
The 2023 Tour features 10 private and distinct gardens plus one public garden, which will offer special tour-day guided tours. The tour gives people an opportunity to see horticultural spaces they would otherwise be unable to view.
The Tour is planned for Sunday, June 25. Tickets are available for cash payment only from six nurseries and retailers in Delta, Richmond and Surrey: Harris Nurseryland, Phoenix Perennials, Sunnyside Nurseries, Vandula Farms, West Coast Gardens, and West Coast Seeds.
Advance tickets are $30 and tour-day tickets, if available, are $40 from one location, Harris Nurseryland.
Everyone is welcome, including children 12 and older; however, due to uneven ground, the tour is not wheel-chair accessible or stroller-friendly. Pets are prohibited.
