Brenda, when the city and club were MUCH smaller (16 years ago and more), the addresses of the winning gardens were published in the newspaper, and anyone could see them. Unfortunately, when things are free, some people don't respect them, so winning gardeners found beds trampled, plants vandalized (people ripping off cuttings), and lawns ruined. :-( The Calgary Horticultural Society (CHS) decided to start charging admission, and that did two things: it raised money for the society, and it limited the number of people walking through the gardens. And, if you had to pay, you just might be more respectful. Rules were started too, saying that viewers needed to keep children under control and pets at home--what a concept!! The first year, the tickets were $5. The price has slowly climbed (now that there are about 1 million citizens in Calgary, 6,000 of whom are CHS members) to $20 for non-members and $15 for members. The "ticket" is actually a small booklet with the names and addresses of the winners, and the categories they won. The addresses are clustered by quadrant of the city and usually, except for this year for some reason, contain a simplified map to help you plot the route. With 24 gardens scattered all over this huge city, and only 12 hours, it takes a fair amount of planning (and a good map or navigation system)! Viewing is limited to those who have passports because a) you don't know where the gardens are without one, and b) there's a volunteer at the entrance of each winning garden and he/she doesn't let anyone in who doesn't have a passport in hand. He/she is also keeps track of how many visitors each garden receives. Volunteers usually do a three hour shift and then they get to view the gardens with their complementary passports. I volunteered a few times, but found it hard to get to all the gardens I wanted to view with 3 fewer hours!!! Lawns still get trampled with the number of people (I've heard that many winning gardeners have to fix their lawns after the tours), but there's much more control and hardly any chaos. It makes the experience much more pleasant for the winners and the viewers. I'm really sorry I don't get to go this year. :-(

Lovely views!! And beautiful daylilies. Yes, they open new ones every day now, so exciting. I like Raspberry Fantasy, Beautiful Edgings and South Seas the most. My Strutter's Ball was doing great until I divided it this year. What an adventure for your little Babe.. Poor thing. I hope he'll now be afraid of that or any other big trees! His twin brother Max here climbed.. me the other day. I sure was scared it happened so quickly! Thankfully the scratches on the chest, neck and head were minor, but I was in a kind of shock for hours.

I love terracing. Like a view of Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Or maybe Hanging Hostas of Hampshire. That English garden (see YouTube for videos of it) have their pots hanging from every conceivable spot on the property. I love your setup, Bruce. Has to be excellent drainage until you reach the bottom. Lots of work invested in your garden. What a great space.

The bottom is Chance Encounter, the top is Down Home and the triple booms are Moonlit Masquerade. I've moved them around somewhat so I'm not sure sometimes what is what. But the top and the triple are for sure.