I've not had an organized tour come though, but Southern Living magazine came to do a photo shoot and story about my deer resistant garden. I know it's difficult not to get yourself all worked up about it. The experience turned out to be fun.

Garden bloggers visiting the area also contact me to drop by on short notice so I don't scramble to get ready for their visit. The way I look at it...they're gardeners and they know how things work in a garden. They're not as critical as you may think. They understand.

Take a deep breath.

Prioritize any tasks you feel you must complete before the tour.

Walk around your garden. If you don't panic over anything, let it go.

Concentrate on just tidying up by deadheading or shaping, freshen the mulch (if needed).

Because you were selected THEY ALREADY LIKE YOUR GARDEN. No worries.

Cameron

As Cameron said, they are gardeners and those in charge already like your garden . . .

Tidy up, have a smile to welcome folks. If you can provide some seating in the shade and some cool water to drink, they will enjoy the experience all the more. Gardens I have visited often have knowledgeable extra folks available to answer questions about the garden and its plants to reduce the strain on the owner.

Ditto what Cameron said... We were a host garden on the local tour in 2007. The thought of 700 people wandering through the garden was more than a little intimidating! But it was a lot of fun. Doing obvious stuff like deadheading to tidy up was the main thing. The vast majority of the people who come through are just looking for a nice day out and are not critical at all.

We didn't label plants as much as recommended but we had several friends helping out on tour day so they (and we) could identify plants for people. Not too many people asked for id. on plants. Vyvyan Pennell clematis was the main plant people asked about because it was putting on a big show on tour day.

Relax and enjoy the day - you'll be tired but happy at the end I'm sure.

Whew, that's comforting. Thanks so much guys.

I have an old female dog who, I swear, pees Round-up forever leaving me with a spotty lawn. So it really isn't necessary to break out the green spray paint then, eh? And whoever peeks under the shrubs deserves to see those gruesome lurking weeds :)

I had my garden on the local garden club tour in 2007 and that same year BH&G were here to take photographs for a story in their magazine. It was much more interesting than I thought it was going to be. About 500 people came through my garden that day and there was a lot of work to do to get ready for the tour. I was exhausted! I am very critical of everything I do and like many of us we focus on the negative but with so many compliments, I decided that they can't all be crazy.
As others have said, something to drink, some shade and just being friendly is important.
The photo shoot was more difficult to prepare for.
Anyway, enjoy the experience. Regina

"These are weeds."
I am so using this one...ROFL.

I think we're often our own worst critics. Thanks all, I am now determined to enjoy myself instead.

Try to have a lot of seating in different areas. Many times people bring their elderly parents, who love gardens, but need to sit and rest more. Seating in shade is especially nice. It can be as simple as fold up chairs, but they will be appreciated by many.

Have fun!

I have visited many garden tours (never had my own), and few things were really appreciated:
~ Pathways that were comfortable to step along (sometimes after the rain they get soaked and mess up your shoes - so extra mulch is always good).
~ Labeling plants, especially showy ones is appreciated.
~ Sometimes people put "before and after" pictured on display board to share the transformation of their garden, which, I think is inspiring to others and shows possibility of what can be done with some planning and sweat.
~ Refreshments are always welcome.
~ Fresh mulch, and also watering plants early morning makes everything look happy and alive.
~ Yes, sitting areas are a good idea - people like to slow down, relax and appreciate the garden for a while longer.
~ Weeds and other imperfections are seldom noticed as much as we think - they are part of the charm :), and rarely paid much attention to, unless the garden is lost in them - which is never a case.
~ Other things were already mentioned here, like friendly helpers, nametags, few colorful annuals in pretty pots, birdfeeders that are refilled and cleaned, dogs put away.

Enjoy the tour! Your garden must be gorgeous if they asked you - let us know how it goes - post pictures, and most importantly relax and enjoy!

~Natalie

Somebody needs to do a basic tutorial on getting ready for a garden tour without making yourself nuts over it or taking out a house loan for enough mulch and new plants! Many more good points were brought out that I hadn't thought of, and here's another that I had forgotten but now remember from annoying experience: clean up all the dog poop if you have dogs.

One reason I don't care for the use of too much fresh mulch is because of a garden club tour I've been on that must buy cypress mulch by the pallet because every home on the tour used it everywhere, and it was really distracting to see it at every garden: it was the first and most dominating feature and you knew it was not how the garden usually looked. Made every garden look the same and it was scattered into the lawns as if applied hastily and with not much care. For me, the one garden that didn't use it was the best, the most natural and after the tour, it got the most "votes" that were cast for favorite garden.

Mowing the lawn is another must, you would be surprised at how many people don't. Edging the beds neatly makes a garden look way better than any amount of fresh mulch too.

I really wish somebody had told me all these things when I first started out on the "tour circuits" thirty years ago and was a nervous wreck before every tour just making myself crazy trying to have everything showcase perfect. It took me a long time to realize that real gardens are not like that, and no one expects to see that anyway.

Now I just have a good time with a tour, and usually have at least one fun thing that's different. This spring I had a new bed with hostas, ferns and other shade plants in the woods gardens, with big old stumps and interesting rocks, and my grandson's toy dinosaurs cavorting among them. Gotta have a sense of play!
Sandy

Wow, more good ideas.

Thankfully, seating isn't a problem. How about leaving some barbequed tiny new potatoes, tossed with a little butter/bacon/chives, on a platter on the patio table? Fingers only please. And bottled water in an ice chest? I was also wondering if I should build a small smoky smudge in the fire pit to ward off mosquitoes. Or would that be too much of a hazard? Overall, I really don't want things to get expensive but I do want people to feel appreciated.

Hadn't really thought about it but a "before and after" photo display is definitely something that I will do. I think that is my supposed niche on the tour - how to personalize a typical, newly built, suburban lot. Whilst I don't have any fun toy dinosaurs, I could float a rubber duckie in the pond for the kids :)

I also came up with a new worry. I have lots of chimes, wind spinners and garden art. Even though I live in an incredibly safe area, has anyone ever experienced theft as a result of so many strangers in their yard?

We didn't have an problems with theft or damage during the tour - except one of the tour organizers absconded with seed pods from my red trilliums!

As I am a "computer" person, I created a PowerPoint presentation of the before, during and up-to-the-present pictorial presentation that I ran in continuous mode. Had my laptop sitting on the picnic table with an umbrella above. Many people sat and watched it from beginning to end. I also had a large cooler (with spigot) full of lemonade and a covered platter of cookies. It was a very hot day.

skip the smudgepot for the asthmatics' sakes as well as safety risk.

I watching this thread with interest. We have a tour coming through in three weeks, and another two weeks later.

I'm hoping our experience is as much fun as we find gardening to be.

mao

Great advice. I had one in my garden several years ago and people will ask what anything blooming is so it is a good idea to label or have something printed to explain the highlights so you don't have to repeat the same answer over and over. Most people look at the flowers so colorful annuals are a plus depending where you are with bloom peaks. I worked myself to the bone, too wouldn't do that so much anymore.

Great ideas, mosswitch. Especially the one about the trash receptacle. I can seen people on tours just sitting their empty water bottles anywhere and esp.if you offer snacks those paper napkins will be dropped if not intentionally. And having an extra person on hand to welcome or just be present is a good one.

I've been asked to be on garden tours but I worry about my old pavers and people tripping on them. Are their any wavers that a person has to sign before touring gardens? Would my home owners insurance cover any injuries incurred by visitors?

My garden was on the San Fernando Valley Iris Society Trek this year, and it was the first time I had done it.

The Society has insurance for the tour- that's the first question I asked, Schoolhouse, because of my uneven flagstones. Even so, I put lime green duct tape in little diamonds on the edges of particularly dangerous steps- the bridge over the pond, the edge of the raised patio.

Small bottles of water, a trash receptacle, horrid little signs for the plants, mow and edge and pick up poop. Put away tools and that's it! Enjoy the social interaction, which is what it's all about. People want to see real gardens, with weeds and bald spots in the lawn. Oh- I cleaned my bathroom, just in case :)

Renee

I'm an avid tour taker. In our area, the hosting organization usually provides tag checkers and cold water, sometimes cookies each each garden.

Two years ago, the church in a nearby town organized a tour which included a variety of gardens. Each host tried to take each group on a tour of their garden. Since it was a new tour, there weren't huge groups of people, so it was possible. I found this much more informative than the usual tours where sometimes the owner isn't around and the volunteers don't know the names of all the plants. There was one large garden where waiting for the host to take a group on tour was strictly enforced by the host and helpers. There was a tent and cold drinks staffed by a helper in the waiting area. Surprisingly, the owner included a quick visit inside the house to see how the gardens could be viewed from some key windows.

As much as I enjoy some spectacular gardens designed by professional LAs and kept tidy by hired help, I like best the gardens a homeowner creates on their own. Sometimes there are some ideas I can copy or plants I can find. The only time I did not like a garden was one where too much white stone was used and the garden was so new the fountain was not yet working. The homeowner had place a note rudely blaming the plumber for not having the fountain working.

I think it is especially helpful if the host organization includes notes on the tour map as to where public restrooms can be found. I like to read a short story about each garden in the map booklet.

My thanks to all of you who open your garden to the public. I very much enjoy going on garden tours.

On the insurance issue... The local Hort. Society that organized the tour had a general insurance policy but I wasn't totally comfortable with it. I called my home insurer and, for a very modest amount (can't remember now exactly how much...) I got a one-day special liability rider added to my house insurance policy. Nobody had any falls or accidents, but having the coverage removed one worry from the list:-)

A friend with a very bubbly personality was helping out on tour day in the backyard. She has also worked for me in the garden, so knew the plants and my garden philosophy well. As a group of people went into the backyard, she did a sort of welcome speech and it didn't take long before she had collected a lot of people around her and provided a sort of running commentary. Because she was very approachable, people felt comfortable asking lots of questions. When she didn't know the answer to something, she came looking for me to get me to go into the backyard to answer questions. People seemed to like that approach. On garden tours I've been on, it's quite often hard to find a person to talk to about the garden.

I am still giggling over the scarlet "crapflower".