Visit Marin’s Eco-Friendly Gardens Self Guided Tour

Bees, Butterflies and Blooms Converge at Eco-Friendly Garden Tour!

Colorful blooms – and even bee hives - will be part of Marin’s Eco-Friendly Garden Tour on Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to colorful foliage, this self-guided Tour emphasizes eco-friendly features such as the use of native plants, pesticide-free gardens, mulching, methods of addressing hillside erosion, creek-friendly bank stabilization methods, water-wise plants, fire-resistant plants and use of rain chains - a more artistic alternative to down spouts.

Over 10 Marin gardens with eco-friendly features will be on display and each home’s landscaper/designer will be available to respond to questions from the public. Other experts will be available to answer questions about native plants, erosion control, drainage, healthy creeks and more. Garden locations will be made available through a Tour Guide Booklet mailed to each participant following registration.

Participants will have a chance to expand their knowledge on various issues by collecting free materials, available at each garden, for future reference. Materials range from bird guides and plant lists that attract butterflies and other beneficial insects to creek care guides and simple erosion control manuals.

In addition to the Saturday self-guided Tour, the Marin Art and Garden Center will hold an exclusive plant sale on Sunday, in the Butterfly Garden, for all Eco-Friendly Tour participants. An array of California natives and drought tolerant plants and shrubs will be available. Many of the plants being sold are grown on site at the MAGC Nursery. Experts, including Nancy Bauer, author of The Habitat Garden Book, will be on hand to help with your selections.

Registration can be made online through the College of Marin at www.marincommunityed.org (course #8224) or by calling Gina Purin of MCSTOPPP at 499-3202. Price is $15 per adult.

The Tour is sponsored by the Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP) in cooperation with the Marin Art and Garden Center and the College of Marin.

Participating Landscapers, to date, include: Art Gardens Landscape Co, Blume & Dean Landscape Design, CA Native Landscapes, EcoLogic Landscaping, Edger Landscape Design, EcoScapes, Equinox Landscape, PlannedLand, Quinn’s California Landscapes, Reilly Designs Inc., Roger Waters Environments Inc, and Simmonds & Associates.