River Park hosts its first garden tour

Discover seven special gardens in River Park during the first River Park Garden Tour this Saturday. 

(Photo courtesy River Park Garden Club)

See six private landscapes plus a large student project

Discover some hidden gems and get inspired to create your own during the first River Park Garden Tour, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13.

“Seven Special Garden Spaces” will take you inside the landscapes of six private homes in this unique Sacramento neighborhood plus the gardens of Caleb-Greenwood School.

Where is River Park? The neighborhood’s main street is Carlson Drive, off H Street, east of California State University, Sacramento, near the Scottish Rite Masonic Center and Fremont Church in Sacramento.

But it’s the rich alluvial soil that makes this riverside neighborhood such a gardening delight.

Among the tour highlights are: a poet’s garden; an English garden with edibles; a garden nurtured by a pair of serious plant “junkies”; another with a collection of Japanese maples and rock formations; a low-maintenance design; and one of the area’s largest drought-tolerant gardens. The school’s gardens include student-tended, you-pick veggie gardens plus a landscape devoted to California natives.

In her own River Park garden, a UC Cooperative Extension master gardener will answer gardening questions and offer advice. Another added attraction: A garden boutique. Tom Kurth, owner of The Ruralist shop on 57th Street Antique Row, promises a selection of unique garden gifts, antiques for the garden, potted herbs and garden art.

Tour tickets are $5 each, available in advance by calling 916-454-5637 or online at http://riverparkgardenclub.yolasite.com. On the day of the tour, tickets will be sold only at 5457 Carlson Drive, Sacramento.

-- Debbie Arrington