Tour the Area's Most Amazing Private Gardens this Weekend

Do you have a green thumb? Or maybe just wish you did?

The Peninsula is home to some of the most talented gardeners and amazing gardens on the West Coast. And now, this Saturday, you can get your chance to take a peek into some of the area's most beautiful and lush home gardens around.

Whether gardening is your personal sanctuary or something you admire in others but could never emulate, spending a few moments in each of these gardens is sure to be a beautiful experience.

This Saturday, Sept. 8, the San Mateo Arboretum Society invites all to its , presenting six incredible private gardens.

"These homes with amazing views, bird-tuned ravines and peaceful decks are tucked lovingly into our busy Peninsula," say event organizers. "Each of these urban treasures reflects the special relationship between homeowner and landscape designer/contractor that helps create such personal and unique havens."

All six gardens on the tour are in Hillsborough, San Mateo and Burlingame, within easy driving distance of each other.

A highlight of this year’s tour is sure to be the Eugene De Sabla Teahouse and Tea Garden, a nationally recognized historic resource listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The garden is one of the only two remaining gardens designed by Makota Hagiwara, who also designed the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

Organizers also say the gardens on this year’s tour "showcase creative and practical solutions to a variety of typical garden situations, including how to tame challenging hillside sites, how to include drought-tolerant and native plants into the landscape plan, and how to create easy-to-use entertainment areas."

"Our garden tour really prides itself on the extra attractions available at each garden to enhance the learning opportunities for the visitor," Arboretum Society members say. "Representatives from specialty associations, like the Master Composters, and horticultural experts, including bonsai and rose, are available to patiently answer questions and provide detailed knowledge of the plants and their growing requirements.

"Specialty vendors who participated in the creation of the gardens are also available to showcase sustainable practices and materials.  Visitors will come away with both inspiration and information to tackle their own gardening challenges."

The historic Kohl Pumphouse, located at , is the "touchstone" of the tour, and will feature a plant sale at the Arboretum Society Greenhouses from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with vendor food from Flamin' Dogs available for sale as well.

Sponsors of this year's tour include Blue Sky Design, Lyngso Garden Materials, Borel Bank and Hillsborough Garden Crafters.

The tour has an open schedule from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 on the day of the tour, to be sold at the Kohl Pumphouse.

Tickets can be purchased online via PayPal at www.sanmateoarboretum.org. The following local retailers will also be selling tickets:

•  in San Mateo 
•  in San Mateo
•  in San Mateo 
• San Mateo Arborteum Society's Nursery & Greenhouse 
• Wisnom Hardware in San Mateo 
•  in Burlingame 
•  in Belmont 
•  in San Carlos 
•  in Redwood City

Event organizers strongly encourage attendees to carpool and to wear comfortable walking shoes, as there are some steps, natural non-flat gravel paths and small hills, and the estates on the tour can be up to an acre in size. Organizers disourage strollers, walkers and wheelchairs.

Sign up for Belmont Patch's daily newsletter|Like Belmont Patch on Facebook | Follow Belmont Patch on Twitter | Start your own blog on Belmont Patch

Sign up for San Carlos Patch's daily newsletter | Like San Carlos Patch on Facebook | Follow San Carlos Patch on Twitter | Start a blog on San Carlos Patch