Botanic garden hosts 3rd annual garden tour
A plant sale, flower show, nature crafts, educational presentations and, of course, fabulous gardens are on are all on tap for the Oroville Botanic Garden & Education Center's garden tour happening this weekend.
The third annual tour will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $10 for the two days and may be purchased either day at Hearthstone School, 2280 6th Street, which is serving as the starting location and hub for the event. Seven locations, all within a 10-mile radius of the school, are participating in the weekend event but not all are open both days. A list of gardens including which days they are open for visiting along with a map of all locations will be provided to ticket holders. Ticket holders will receive a ballot so they can vote on “Oroville's
favorite garden” and the winning garden will receive
“Part of our mission is to provide education on gardening and to help encourage and inspire people to build more gardens in the community,” said Shane. “Going around to see all the different gardens and different ways people have created different types of gardens is a great way to inspire people to work on their own gardens.”
This year's tour starts at Hearthstone School, where visitors will have the opportunity to tour students perennial garden and purchase plants. The school is also hosting the Lake Oroville Area Garden Club's flower exhibition.
The African American Family & Cultural Center's community garden is participating in the tour on Saturday only. At this location visitors will have the opportunity to purchases plants and see three different hoop-style greenhouse designs. Additionally the garden's manager, Skipper Clark, will be available to talk to people about his microgreen growing and composting techniques.
The third public garden, open only on Sunday for the tour, is the OBGEC's 2-acre garden featuring a heritage plant section, pollinator's garden and new succulent and aloe gardens. Visitors will have the opportunity to make a pinecone bird feeder.
The remaining fours gardens on the tour are privately owned and include landscaped succulent and rock gardens, fruit tree landscaped, huge varieties of flowers and flowering bushes as well as a permaculture food forest garden.
The proceeds from the event will support the OBGEC's on-going development of its gardens as well as educational programs and events.
“We are starting to plan with the city and other organizations to create more gardens in Oroville,” said Shane. “We want to turn Oroville into a botanical garden.”