May 20

May 20 June 4th through 5th Master Gardener Tour: Grimes Park area

{Contributed Photos}

Delight your senses and inspire the gardener in you at Davidson County Extension Master Gardener’s 16th Garden Tour. The tour returns after a two-year absence on Saturday, June 4th and Sunday, June 5th. Today’s featured gardens are two in the Grimes Park Area The “Cottage Charm Garden” of April and Courtney Crowson on 27 Grimes Circle is a gardening renovation project that began in 2019 with the removal of diseased trees and shrubs. Built-in 1946, the property includes several garden areas that have been revitalized by the Crowsons. A growing, changing and living project, the garden areas are both in full sun and shade.

Features not to miss include:

A wide variety of plants include hollies, abelia, Encore azaleas, annuals and perennials, hydrangeas, camellia, lilacs, hostas.

The garden of Don and Marcia Michaud Patterson on 4 Hege Drive has been a happy work in progress since they moved to the 1920 home in 1984. The work includes both the house and the gardens. With a large variety of plantings and features, the years-long work stands out.

Features not to miss include:

Rain garden and rain barrels
Plant hangers inspired by one they saw in New Zealand
Patio area

Plant varieties include: smoke tree, heather, forsythia, rose of Sharon, baptisia, hydrangeas, Banksian rose on a trellis, espalier pyracanthas, wood poppies, vegetable garden, ferns, bears’ breeches, witch hazel, blueberry, cypress, Japanese snowball, and weeping pussy willow tree.

The tour takes place in the Historic West Second Avenue, Westover and Grimes Park areas of Lexington. Nine gardens have been preserved, restored and re-invented in a variety of styles and sizes. If you like to walk, you can walk from garden to garden through Grimes Park or you can park and visit them in groups. While you’re strolling through the host gardens, Davidson County Master Gardener volunteers are available to answer your questions.

Tickets are $20 and are on sale now at Backyard Retreat, 106 South Main Street in Lexington. On tour days tickets can be purchased at Breeden Insurance, 312 West Center Street and the entrance to Grimes Park, 25 Hege Drive. Your ticket includes a tote bag with detailed information about each garden, a map, pen and more.