The Annual Grandiflora Garden Tour presented by the Garden Education Center was held on June 12. The tour was held on a weekend for the first time in the organization’s long history and proved to be a success. The change from weekday to weekend was made in an effort to entice more male garden enthusiasts than ever before and that it did.
Dozens of Tour Patrons and Benefactors began their day with an elegant breakfast in a guesthouse on a 13-acre estate designed by Charles Stick, known as Sleepy Cat Farm. From there, all visitors were treated to a wide variety of design styles by Doyle Herman Design Associates, of which honorary chairs James Doyle and Kathryn Herman are partners, as well as designs by Edmund Hollander Design Incorporated and Conte & Conte, LLC. The properties varied in size and style ranging from a horse farm with its own indoor covered ring to two in-town residences that showcase the trend toward compact planting in contrast with a mid-country estate with hedged rooms and parterre to a baronial estate set on a hillside with ranging views over surrounding countryside.
This tour is the Garden Education Center’s main fund-raiser. Proceeds from this event fund the operation of the facility including the greenhouse and outdoor teaching garden as well as the many horticultural programs and outreach services the center provides to the community.
