Southern California is known around the world for its lush gardens and meticulously curated homes, but many gardens fall into disrepair as soon as summer ends.  Local landscapers and gardeners often take note of that, and some of them plan to do something about it.

“A lot of preparation for a spring garden happens in the fall, too,” says Stephanie Shermoen, a Landscape Architect and President of Terrain Integration.  “That’s why we decided to do the Orange Garden Tour in the fall.  We wanted to give people a chance to get inspired and to really see the beauty of what can be done with preparations for the spring.”

Shermoen teamed up with Jack Carlisle, owner of The Potting Shed by Carlisle, to curate the Orange Garden Tour and bring attention to the work and beauty of a fall garden.  Autumn is not typically the time of year for garden tours, but with so many set in the spring, they thought they could do something different within the City of Orange.

“The people involved [in the tour] are coming together at meetings we have held, and you should see how they are,” Carlisle says.  “They’re talking about how someone else is growing this or that and how they’ve always wanted to grow that plant.  They’re exchanging ideas and thoughts.  It has really been fun to watch them at these meetings come together as a gardening community.”

One of the things Shermoen and Carlisle have been careful of is to make sure each of the participants feel valued during the tour.

“We didn’t just want it to be about the patrons coming in and looking.  We really wanted to encourage relationships with the homeowners,” says Shermoen.  “It has to be built from the inside out, or people aren’t going to want to come back next year.”

Because of this, the educational opportunity has created a sense of camaraderie among the gardening neighbors of the community.     “The gardens that we’re featuring––these people are serious,” says Carlisle.  “They are really rallying and excited about how their winter and fall garden will appear.  The homes are unique and the architecture plays off the gardens that they’ve created around their homes.”

The lineup of participants has nearly been finalized, with room for more sponsorships.  Proceeds will go to the Orange Home Grown Foundation, which, in addition to the Saturday Farmers & Artisans Market, runs the local Education Farm that teaches people of all ages how to grow crops for themselves.

“Orange Home Grown has been so supportive,” Carlisle says.  “They’re lending their Education Farm to us that morning for check in, so there will be some educational pieces there at the beginning, and you’ll get to see what they’re doing.”

The Orange Garden Tour begins at 10:00 am on October 5 at the Orange Home Grown Education Farm, 356 North Lemon St.  Tickets can be pre-purchased at OrangeGardenTour.com or TPSHomeAndGarden.com for $25.  With a $5 add-on, lunch will be provided by Finney’s Crafthouse.