i have entertained two national hosta tours .. various local tours ... and a bazillion personal tours .... etc ..

i didnt do it for the organizers ....

i did it for the glory ... lol ...

as far as volunteering .. even better than entertaining.. no work.. and no stress .. but you get to be part of the action ...

ken

We were asked to be a host garden on the local Hort. Soc.'s tour in 2006. About 700 people went through the garden. A couple of gardening friends who were familiar with the garden assisted us so we didn't need the volunteer help from the Hort. Soc. The organizers were nice but, aside from putting out a sign on the roadside, they really didn't do much. There was very little guidance provided re what they wanted the host to do re plant labels etc. - they left it up to us to do whatever we were comfortable with. Most of the people going through the garden seemed to be non-gardeners out for a nice day, so there were not a lot of detailed questions/discussions about the plants/plantings. So, labeling plants was a bit of a wasted effort. I noticed, as a visitor on subsequent years' tours, that many host gardens just provided plant lists on paper - if someone wanted to see a particular plant, they just pointed it out to the person who asked.; if someone wanted to know what a particular plant was, a host or volunteer answered them. One thing we did before the tour was talk to our home insurer re liability coverage. They recommended a one-day increase in our coverage. I had checked with the Hort. Soc. and they didn't carry any particular liability coverage that would have protected the hosts. The one-day coverage was pretty inexpensive - I can't remember the cost but it was something like $30-50 for a couple of $million in coverage. Well worth the peace of mind. One older lady felt faint in the heat but giving her cold water and sitting for a while in the shade revived her :-) I think the Hort. Soc. should have provided coverage for all host gardens on the tour.

I've been on our local garden tour twice. Here are some interactions with the organizers that made an impression.

I liked:

They came by the house about 4-6 weeks beforehand to just look around and make sure I was basically on track. I liked that this sort of covered everyone's back.

The volunteers they sent were excellent. I could have stayed inside all day and felt confident that things were taken care of. Volunteers were self-sufficient and had their own water and snacks.

They stressed that I did not have to be around to answer questions. The homeowners are very free to just do whatever they want, with no expectation of giving lectures all day long. The first time I was on the tour, it was 107 degrees, so no way could I be out all day in that heat!

They left me on my own for signs and labels. I was fine with that. I ended up adding signs through the day, once I got repeated questions about a particular plant, I put a label on it.

The organizers seemed genuinely grateful and send everyone a gift of a handmade garden tool and a nice letter.

I did not like:

Unannounced visits the week leading up to the tour. I was working like mad to get things finished, and a surprise visit from a key sponsor or executive director, or anyone, really, was not helpful. They were like, "Oh, look at you, working so hard!" And I was covered in stone dust and not at all in the mood to be gracious or to entertain someone.

We had a pre-tour private tour that was supposed to be for just the other homeowners to see each other's places. It was supposed to be casual and low-key. Our house was the first stop. Well, 30 cars showed up. It was all kinds of people, a photographer, a journalist, etc, etc, etc. Not at all what they billed it as. I was not quite ready for so many people to be traipsing through the yard. I was embarrassed to have so many people over here when I was not ready for them.

Suggestion:

Woody's comment about insurance is an excellent one. Here is my suggestion. I'd love it if the nursery that is one of the sponsors the event would give all the people whose houses are on the tour a 10% discount for the period leading up to the tour. I spent a fair amount of money on things like mulch and annuals that I would not have done if not for the tour. A little discount would have taken some of the sting away.

After the second time on the tour I resolved not to do it again. I enjoyed hosting everyone, but holy cow, it was just too much work for me. Our yard is huge and it's way beyond me to have all of it looking good at the same time!

Hope that helps!

I would never have thought about extra insurance coverage 'woody'....good to know.

I've had 'tours' when swaps have been at my house but those standards are 'home standards' not professional ones. . People have suggested it and I say "go ahead and nominate me" because although I love the admiration I don't like the work. I can't get the entire garden looking good at the same time. My friends must just be being polite because only my church asked me to open the garden and I'm not sure that counts.

Consistently I've heard people mention the expense. Margaret Roach a garden columnist etc and someone else (well known) said getting ready for a tour costs about $1,000. These were both huge properties and huge 'open days' so that's probably top of the scale. But I can see how it could easily cost hundreds to pop in plants in unexpectedly bare spots, hire someone to edge the beds (if your own knees don't permit), buying mulch and so on.

I'll see if I can find the link. It was an interesting interview.

Lady hyphenated bollocksy-buggery <<<<==== lol ...

and for a shiny penny.. you will tell us how you really feel... lol

ken

Just one - a local garden club of about 20 people. ha My garden is behind a tall hedge, not able to be seen from the road, so not too many people even know it is there. They arrived on time, were very appreciative and even gifted me a plant before leaving. I was also told I didn't have to be there, but it was actually fun to talk about the garden to others as I'm usually very reserved and private. No refreshments I was told, but I couldn't resist placing an assortment of tea bags in a tea cup topiary for each member to take home with them if they wished.

My only regret was the grass did not get mowed, and I love a nicely mowed green space to set off the garden. The afternoon before the tour my mother needed to go to the ER, we were there until early evening until she was released (was fine, just needed fluids). However, the mowing didn't get done and I was so disappointed in that it really did need it. There were some other things that could have been made a little more presentable but just one of those things that couldn't be helped.

One concern for me would be the aggravation for my neighbours with all the cars coming and going, parking in front of their homes (on the road).

I opened my old garden to a tour..........once. It was a huge amount of work to get ready for and I wouldn't consider doing it again ;-)) It was a small garden but very densely planted and with an assortment of plants not commonly seen in every garden. I may be a professional garden designer but at home, design takes a backstage roll to my plant collecting hobby and it is more than a little difficult to get the two to mesh. Many of the tour visitors were very complimentary and interested in the unusual plants but I did overhear a number of less complimentary comments. That shouldn't surprise me as I am often as critical when viewing tour gardens (although I tend to keep my critical comments to myself). But it was enough of a mixed and physically taxing experience that I would never be in any hurry to do it again.

My garden is for me and only needs to provide me with satisfaction.........I have no compelling need to show it off.

Rouge, my neighbor's kids capitalized on the situation and sold iced coffee and lemonade out by the road. But yes, it is annoying to have so many people parking everywhere.

Thank you everyone for your input. I will share some of my experiences. When I moved into my home 5 years ago and first got into gardening, I heard about this main garden tour that is run here through the local newspaper, free to the public, anyone can be listed in it - you just write your description and indicate the times and days you are open within the allocated time period. I thought, why not?

The good. It was probably one of the most nerve-wracking thing I have ever done, but everyone was so genuinely appreciative as soon as they stepped in the gate, and expressed it. People were astounded at how many gardens in the afore thought 'lower city' were actual gems. I met some truly interesting people along the way, and some became close friends or people I would see regularly during the year throughout the city (one worked at Lowes, and I would make a point of chatting with him whenever I went there). And many people would come up to me out of the blue and tell me they had been to my garden. There was also a woman who responded to my description (I didn't write a straight forward description; it was very artistic). She was the only person who asked me directly what it meant, and then we had a very intimate discussion where we both shared some of the pains and losses we had gone through - it was amazing to connect on that level.

The bad. One of the visitors to my garden was a young couple who were quite smitten by these large flexi-glass cones I had placed in my garden, which I had gotten from my former workplace. They went on and on about them, and literally insisted I sell them two, they wouldn't leave unless I did. This was when there were already a large number of people coming, going and asking me other questions, and I was on my own, felt a bit overwhelmed. I more or less said why don't you just take them now, and you could come back another day and give me some money for them. Oh yeah, they were giddy, they would definitely do that they said, I could trust them...never saw them again. Honestly, I had more than enough of those cones and they weren't a cost to me; it was the principle above all else. It was disappointing to come up against low brows when everyone else was so respectful.

The ugly. Sadly, I found from the get-go the organization of the event to be a mess, with no support for you as a person who is volunteering your garden. When I first did it, I had absolutely no idea what i was doing - so I asked a few questions via email to the person coordinating it. No response. After a few emails, I phoned and left a few messages. No response. Ended up winging it as best I could. Found out later that I was not unique in this; many people experienced the same thing. Even the regulars would be trying to get answers to questions - like what the dates might be for the year so they can plan around it - no response. Some people were sympathetic, because "it's just that one person coordinating". And I appreciate the difficulties of organization, I have lived and worked it! But I found out that over the years, people were very interested in helping out, but the person coordinating - no response. So I'm calling BS on that. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, but you get the picture.

Wanted to add that because my garden isn't well known, the garden ladies dubbed it a "Secret Garden" as soon as they walked through the gate. Then one of the garden tour ladies also named a part of my garden. It's a little sunken garden surrounded by tall boxwood. She exclaimed as they all tried to crowd into it, "Ooooo, a secret, secret garden!" So now I call it my "Secret Sunken Garden".

Has anyone had to deal with theft? My BF told me before the tour to be careful, because her aunt welcomed a tour years ago and somehow someone made their way into the house and stole her very collectible pottery. That was the only explanation she could come up with as it was indeed missing afterwards. I was sure the small group that came to my house were not that sort.

So, I went to a major garden tour in another city recently - free to the public. Everyone's gardens looked so spectacular, interesting, diverse, lush...a fantastic event as always. Someone I met walking through one of the gardens said to me that she loves these tours, but she always feels so inadequate after going through! I know where she's coming from, it's kind of exhausting actually. Because you go to these tours and you think, "Wait, I have to do even more?" And of course, most of the homeowners were like "Oh, you mean this phenomenal garden? Really, it is nothing. No work at all." To which we other gardeners have a good laugh to ourselves and say we are such liars! Like cleaning up the big mess from some tree that drops its flowers the week of the event. Or cleaning out all the ongoing poop from those exquisite bird feeders you have. Or working from the beginning of the season to make sure everything is as pumped as possible for the grand reveal. Or racing to buy some pumped up annuals because try as you might, the ones you planted earlier in the season are nowhere near the height or stature you need to show off. Or the permanent smile you see on my face is actually a grimace from the lower back pain from all the work getting things ready.

Our garden was on the Master Gardener's annual tour in 2005. We've been asked to be on the same 2018 tour. The first time, I was working out of the house and I let the stress get to me here and there. There wasn't a lot of time to prepare, which didn't help. I'm retired now and have plenty of time till next July. My how things have changed.

The Montana Cabin

The circle that no longer exists (facing the far corner of the yard):