Olbrich's Home Garden Tour featuring Outdoor Living

Since hours are spent tending a garden into beauty, why not make it a space that is perfect for outdoor entertaining and relaxing? Olbrich’s Home Garden Tour Featuring Outdoor Living will show you how! Visit fabulous private gardens in the Village of Maple Bluff on Friday, July 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, July 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. See creative patios and pergolas, listen to soothing water features, and marvel at attention-grabbing plants. Wander through extensive lakeside gardens and stroll through intimate backyard gardens overflowing with beauty.
Olbrich extends a special invitation to tour private gardens created and maintained by talented home gardeners. Talk to the homeowners, landscape designers, and vendors of garden-related materials. Hear first-hand the story of each garden – how it has evolved into the masterpiece it is today and why specific plants were chosen for each area. This year, get great ideas for creating outdoor living spaces that everyone can enjoy. Let homeowners tell you about their journeys creating the outdoor spaces in which they play, relax, cook, entertain, and celebrate. Gain insights to use in your own garden and follow the trend toward outdoor living. Master gardeners and volunteers familiar with each garden will be available to answer questions about landscape design and individual plants.
What is outdoor living? According to the website of Home Garden Tour sponsor Benson’s, outdoor living, or fusion living, is the “seamless flow between outdoor and indoor living spaces.” Weather-resistant furniture, fabrics, grills, barbeques, portable gardens, fountains, water features, shade awnings, fans, and misters are just a few elements in this new trend.
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Some homeowners have also chosen to bring the outdoors inside with additions of sunrooms or by adding interior décor. Look for a fiber-optic light in the picture window of one home. The lighting mimics the flowing ornamental grasses found throughout the garden.
Olbrich’s Home Garden Tour Featuring Outdoor Living is sponsored by Benson’s; Qual Line Fence Corp.; Klein’s Floral & Greenhouses; Landscape Designs, Inc. Steve Lesch; Kool View – Four Seasons Sunrooms; The Lang Companies; Madison Area Master Gardeners Association, Inc.; and Not Just Kitchens, LLC. Sponsors will have displays and representatives at some gardens on the tour.
Tickets are available beginning June 9 at the Greeter Desk at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Advance tickets are $10 for Olbrich members and $12 for the public. Tour-day tickets are $12 for Olbrich members and $14 for the public. Proceeds benefit Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Become a member of the Olbrich Botanical Society now through July 12 and receive a free Home Garden Tour ticket. Membership forms are available at all ticket locations, Olbrich’s Greeter Desk, all home gardens during the tour, and by calling 608-246-4724.
Tickets are available at the following locations:
• Greeter Desk at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., Madison
• Beauty Blossoms, 701 N. High Point Road, Madison
• Felly's Flowers, with locations at:
• 607 N. Sherman Ave., Madison
• 7858 Mineral Point Road, Madison
• 2701 University Ave., Madison
• 205 E. Broadway , Monona
• 6353 Nesbitt Road, Fitchburg
• America's Best Flowers Garden Center, 4311 Vilas Hope Road, Cottage Grove
To purchase tickets the day of the tour, go to the garden at 29 Cambridge Court. Turn onto Cambridge Road from N. Sherman, then turn left onto Cambridge Court.
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is located in Madison, Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Monona at 3330 Atwood Avenue. For more information visit Olbrich’s website at www.olbrich.org or call 608-246-4550.