Visit
this verdant oasis and eight other gardens at the Noe
Valley Garden Tour on Sunday, May 19. You may have a
free ticket if you volunteer as a greeter.
Photo courtesy Richard May
The group Friends of Noe Valley is hosting its
sixth annual Noe
Valley Garden Tour on Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and
nine local
arbors are growing in anticipation.
This year the gardens are sprinkled throughout
the neighborhood
from Dolores to Hoffman and 23rd to 30th Street. Three were
created by
professional designers—Janet Moyer Landscaping, Michele
Schaal, and Shape of
the Earth—and six were designed by their owners. One recently
planted garden
gives a sense of what an urban paradise looks like in its
infancy.
The tour is walkable, but for those who’d like a
ride, a shuttle
van will be circling the sites, courtesy of the Noe Valley
Merchants and
Professionals Association and the Noe Valley Association.
Proceeds from the tour will go toward two
community projects: the
garden at Alvarado Elementary School and tree-trimming in
Upper Douglass Dog
Park. Money from ticket sales has been augmented by donations
from the Noe
Valley branch of Wells Fargo Bank, Circle Bank, La Boulange
Bakery Café, Martha
& Bros. Coffee, and several other local businesses. In
fact, sponsorship
doubled this year, says Richard May of Friends.
Speaking of volunteers, the event is still in
need of a few, to be
greeters and ticket-takers along the tour.
“All you have to do is sit for two hours,” says
Linda Lockyer,
chairwoman of the Friends Events Committee.
Shifts run 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1:
30 p.m., and 1:30
to 4 p.m. If you sign up, admission is free and you’re invited
to a pre-tour
party at La Boulange on Thursday, May 17, 7 p.m. Contact Linda.Lockyer@cardinalhealth.com to
volunteer.
Regular admission to the tour costs $18. Those
over 65 pay $14.
Tickets can be found at the Saturday Noe Valley Farmers’
Market on 24th Street
(including the day of the tour) and at stores throughout the
neighborhood. This
year patrons also can buy tickets online at www.friendsofnoevalley.com.
Wishing your garden might sprout enough flowers
to qualify for
next year’s tour? Take advantage of Janet Moyer Landscaping’s
free garden
clinic during Sunday Streets events, on May 6, June 3, July 1,
and Aug. 5, from
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring photos highlighting the trouble spots
in your garden to
Moyer’s Mission center at 1031 Valencia St.
