Open Days Tour drops Austin in 2007
Bad news for garden-tour enthusiasts in Austin this year. The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days schedule for 2007 shows no Austin date. In years past, Open Days Austin has been held in October, and in 2006 I photographed all six gardens on the tour and gave a blog tour of each one.
I was eager to visit some of these gardens again, as well as a few new ones, when I realized yesterday that Austin isn’t on the 2007 schedule. Dismayed, I emailed Laura Palmer, director of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, to ask her what had happened to our tour date. She promptly responded,
Unfortunately, Austin won’t be back until 2008. We have asked our Regional Representative there to help expand the program throughout Texas. She couldn’t do both.
We are hoping to offer a lecture series or another such event in Austin in 2007. We’ll keep you posted.
Thank you for your interest and support.
Laura
According to a Statesman article a few months ago, Deborah Hornickle is the regional rep to whom Laura Palmer refers. Hornickle (whose garden was featured on the 2006 tour) is quoted in that article as saying, “Next year will see big changes in my own yard, as I am planning a house addition that will invade a large portion of the rear garden. I have my fingers crossed that this garden I love so dearly will find a way to coexist with my new living space in an aesthetically pleasing way.”
Darn it, but I suspect that rear addition is another reason why the Austin tour isn’t happening. If you’re adding on to your house and your garden is a mess, plus you’ve been charged with expanding the Open Days program across Texas, how much time would you have left to organize a local tour? My guess is, Hornickle’s garden will be back on the projected 2008 tour, better than ever with her new addition all finished.
In the meantime, Austinites must console themselves with nearby cities’ tours. Oops, there aren’t any nearby. Barring another Austin tour, I hoped that at least nearby San Antonio would be featured, but the only Texas cities on tour in 2007 are El Paso, Dallas, and Ft. Worth. El Paso is just too far away from Austin, and even Dallas and Ft. Worth are a good 3 to 4 hours away. Here are the dates anyway:
El Paso: May 5 & 6
Fort Worth: October 14
Dallas: October 20
I might try to make a day trip for either the Dallas or Ft. Worth tour, but I will be sorry not to see great Austin gardens when October rolls around.
Why don’t all you Austin bloggers band together and organize a garden tour? Or is there another group who could do it instead of Garden Conservancy?
Actually, there are other garden tours in Austin each year. Last spring there was a Wildflower Center-sponsored tour of private gardens that use primarily native plants, and in the fall the Master Gardeners sponsored a tour of their gardens. As for the Austin garden bloggers, we do visit each others’ gardens, but it’s all in fun. I, for one, prefer to leave the big job of organizing city-wide tours to others. Although I do see the appeal of a grassroots Garden Walk like Elizabeth Licata helps organize in Buffalo. —Pam
How frustrating! I enjoyed your pictures and descriptions last year and was hoping to see everything myself this year! It is hard for a beginner gardener to get started without being able to look at what other people in the area are doing. Thanks so much to you and Annie and the other Austin bloggers for at least giving me ideas over the internet!
I’m glad you enjoyed the “tour” last year, Stephanie. It is frustrating that we lost the Open Days tour this year, but I am hopeful that it will return next year. One great place for a beginning gardener in Austin to get plant and design ideas is the Wildflower Center. Their gardens really inspired me when I moved here 13 years ago. —Pam
Nuts. Although I’m too lazy to go on a garden tour myself, I certainly enjoyed the pictures you’d take. At least there will be other tours.
I’m happy to be able to provide “armchair” garden tours, R.! —Pam