Tour Local Private Gardens

Beginning this weekend, you can do more than peek over the fence at interesting private gardens, you can tour them in neighborhoods throughout Southern California.

You can visit home gardens in Silver Lake, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Brentwood, on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in Corona del Mar. Or even visit gardens in rustic Topanga.

These tours are self-guided. When you get your ticket, you’ll receive a map, and you drive to the various gardens. Some tours start at specific sites, and often other events or refreshments are available. The tours benefit various organizations.

April 19: Silver Lake area “Secret Gardens” tour of 11 private gardens, plus chamber music, tea, and an arts and garden bazaar featuring local artists on the grounds of the Silver Lake Reservoir, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For tickets, call (213) 612-5271. $30.

April 19: Westside benefit tour featuring five gardens in Santa Monica, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades, and sponsored by the Santa Monica Bay Auxiliary of Children’s Hospital, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For information, call (310) 395-7285 or (310) 451-0082. $15.

April 19: Corona del Mar tour of six residential gardens, with refreshments at Sherman Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. For tickets, call (714) 673-2261. $20.

April 26: Pacific Palisades garden tour, with a plant sale and refreshments at selected gardens, 1-5 p.m. For tickets, call (310) 454-7826 or (310) 454-6458. $7.50.

May 2: Palos Verdes tour of four gardens, with a light lunch at the Palos Verdes Art Center, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Call (310) 791-0125, or send check and self-addressed, stamped envelope to PVWC, P.O. Box 851, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274. Advance tickets are $20.

May 3: Topanga tour of six “hidden gardens,” with refreshments, the California Native Plant traveling bookstore, and lectures on oaks, slope retention and fire landscaping, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Resource Conservation District offices, 122 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. Tickets are available there. $10.