Joy, Connection, and Inspiration – 5 Tips to Get the Most Out of Spring Tours
February 2024. LA’s garden tours offer great opportunities to enjoy nature and get to know other garden enthusiasts. Beyond the sheer joy, tours can also help you get a sense of the type of garden that you’ll love long-term. If you are touring with intent, here are a few tips and tools that can support you along the way.
Behold Blooms – and Beyond
We know it’s the blooms that inspire tours and draw the crowds. They are a great place to Find Your Favorites or meet a Meet Friendly Foliage. Most tours will have foliage clearly marked. Our event notices for each tour contain Pinterest boards with the gardens’ plant palettes to aid in your brainstorming. Plant palettes make it possible to look beyond the beauty of spring blooms. If you were there in another season, would the space still interest you?
Feel Into Fragrance
California native plants scent the air year round – it’s one of their most delightful qualities! Our best descriptions really can’t do them justice! Pay attention to the fragrances that make you want to linger. Also pay attention to those that maybe aren’t your jam. Your ideal garden will delight all your senses.
Attend to Ambiance
If you are looking to Find Your Landscape Style, getting in a garden provides valuable insight. Attend to the ambiance in the garden – beyond its style, does it vibe with you? Which spaces feel like ones where you’d do you, whether that is reading a book or entertaining a crowd?
Focus on the Flow
Just as a home’s floor plan defines the way its inhabitants use it, a landscape design will determine how people move through the space. What better time to test livability and entertainment capacity than a tour? Watch where people nestle. Notice the delight of having reached a destination point, maybe a view or a cozy space.
Hear from the Homeowner
If a homeowner actively engages in hosting the tour, hear from them! There is no better way to marry your understanding of a space’s vibe and beauty with the practical elements of living within it. This year’s delightful tour hosts also proactively shared Homeowner Insights. What a great kindness and resource!