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Community Corner

Greater Decatur Garden Tour

The
26th Annual Greater Decatur Garden Tour (www.decaturgardentour.com) will
feature an exciting mix of eight private and three public gardens in and around
Decatur, Ga.
April 26-27, 2014.  This year’s theme is
the woodland garden, and the gardens on the tour were chosen to showcase a
variety of imaginative and colorful plant combinations, hardscapes and
landscape features within a woodland setting. 
The always-popular private garden of noted landscape designer Ryan
Gainey will be included on the tour, along with Decatur’s
Woodlands Garden
and the Wylde Center’s greenspace, Hawk Hollow.  The tour’s presenting sponsor is Simmons,
Fouts and Fichtel Architecture and Design (www.sffad.com),
and proceeds will benefit the Wylde
Center (www.wyldecenter.org).



 



“We
are thrilled with the quality and variety of this year’s tour gardens,” said
Sandy Rice, who is chairing the tour for the fourth year.  “We are especially grateful to our sponsor,
and excited that the company’s principals, Liam Simmons and Chris Fichtel will
open their beautiful garden, RoseHill, for the tour.  Woodlands
Garden and Hawk Hollow
will offer lectures and walking tours over the weekend, along with a tree and
native plant sale at Hawk Hollow.  Woodlands Garden is a true hidden gem at Clairmont Road and Scott Blvd. and
features seven acres of Piedmont forest, native plants, over 50 varieties of
camellias and numerous specimen trees.  I
encourage attendees to bring their cameras with them because they will want to
take home some innovative ideas to try in their own landscapes.”

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Tour
times are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 and noon – 5 p.m. on Sunday,
April 27.  Attendees may also visit
RoseHill from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday.  It’s
the only garden on the tour open in the evening.  Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of
the tour, and free for children under 12. 
They may be purchased at www.decaturgardentour.com,
Intown Ace Hardware, Seventeen Steps and at the Oakhurst Garden.  A limited number of tickets will be available
for cash purchase only at the various gardens on the tour.  The tour is
self-guided, and will be held rain or shine. 
In addition to Simmons, Fouts and Fichtel, sponsors include Russell
& Herrera, LLC, At Home with Leslie, Lampe-Farley Communications, Pam
Hughes of Harry Norman, Realtors, Garden*Hood and Camille Harvey.

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About the Wylde Center



 



In
1997, an idea took root in the Oakhurst area of Decatur, Ga.  Neighbors Sally Wylde and Louise Jackson
envisioned a community garden where children could learn about the natural
world and enjoy hands-on gardening activities. 
With the purchase of a half-acre of property at the corner of South McDonough St.
and Oakview Road,
the Oakhurst Community Garden
was born.  From this small seed of an
idea, the Oakhurst
Community Garden
blossomed and grew, and quickly became one of the area’s most popular gathering
spaces, offering individual garden plots, educational programs, a destination
for school field trips and other youth groups and social activities for all
ages.



 



Today,
supported by members, foundations, corporations and donors, the non-profit has
been re-named the Wylde
Center to honor its
co-founder and to better encompass its expanded range of properties and
programs.  The Wylde Center
oversees four distinctive greenspaces, mangers a year-round educational program
for all ages, hosts social events and supervises the Decatur City Schools’ Farm
to School Program.  Staff and volunteers
engage children, families and individuals in activities designed to develop
creative skills in sustainable urban living, organic gardening, health and
nutrition.  The non-profit has grown from
a Decatur-based organization to one that is providing environmental educational
services for metro Atlanta.  Despite its robust growth, the Wylde Center
has stayed true to its original mission of cultivating vibrant greenspaces for
everyone to enjoy and inspiring communities of environmental stewards.  www.wyldecenter.org



 




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