Seasons come and go — and gardeners’ aspirations come and go with them — but nothing is more firmly implanted in a gardener’s psyche than the phrase, “Wait until next year!” Fortunately, the Lowcountry Master Gardeners Educational Garden Tour is here just in time to sustain and nourish that longing. The third annual tour will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 16.
The tour will feature seven exceptional local gardens from Moss Creek to Sea Pines; plants will be labeled and Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions at each. The tour gardens, which have all been cultivated by Master Gardeners, are those of Linda Muller, Moss Creek; Susan Robacker, Windmill Harbour; Vicki Reilly, Windmill Harbour; Nancy Hildebrand, Indigo Run; Bill Moss, Hilton Head Plantation; Sherry Wojtulewicz, Palmetto Dunes and Mim Jacob, Sea Pines.
The event also features additional activities centered at Hilton Head Island High School, where breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m.
Beginning at 8:30 the school will host a huge plant sale, featuring 14 vendors from many local nurseries and other garden-enhancing enterprises.
In addition, Master Gardeners will offer home-grown Lowcountry-appropriate plants that they’ve been nurturing all year especially for this event. Also on hand will be knife and tool sharpeners George Westerfield and Tom Kurtz. And garden white elephants will also be for sale – an intriguing thought.
The nonprofit Lowcountry Master Gardeners Association is currently engaged in 24 educational and beautification projects, all of which are designed for the preservation and enrichment of our unique horticultural and ecological inheritance. Some of the 24 beneficiaries of proceeds from the October tour are Hilton Head Island High School, the Boys and Girls Club, the Butterfly House at Honey Horn, the Hilton Head Island Plant Clinic and the Beaufort County Farmers Markets.
Advance tickets are $15 and may be purchased at Burke’s Pharmacy, Bruno’s Nursery, The Garden Gate, The Greenery, Green Thumb Nursery, Markel’s Gift Shop, Beauty and the Beach Salon, Plant Folks Nursery (Rahn’s), Sunshine Nursery and Buds and Blooms.
Tickets will also be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. the day of the tour for $20. All tickets include a map and driving directions for all garden locations, and will permit entrance into plantations. Gardens may be visited in any order.
