Thanks for the feedback, bindersbeeÂsounds like youÂve gotten some valuable experience organizing your event. Too bad you donÂt live here or IÂd draft you : ) We do have answers for some things you bring up, but others I hadnÂt even thought of yet. Size and advertising Traditionally, our neighborhood (like most historic neighborhoods in our city) has had an annual or bi-annual home tour to raise funds. In the past, these have attracted from less than 1,000 to over 6,000 people. The best year for our neighborhood was when we had significant media coverage in the local paper and magazine, related to a major neighborhood re-development project. Most years, these events do not draw media coverage because they are frequent and the offerings donÂt change much from year to year. In recent years, attendance has dropped off, even though advertising has increased. We speculate this is because the neighborhood has matured, there are less renovations going on, and the freshness is gone. We would continue paid advertising for an event like this, but IÂm hopeful that a gardening event geared towards urban and small gardens would draw the media coverage weÂve been lacking recently. Downtown living is a hot topic, and putting the urban/small garden angle on it is something no one in our city has done yet. I like the idea of making contact with various groups that might be interested in this type of eventÂ.targeted marketing to gardeners (pinning down the downtown/small space crowd is a bit more nebulous, though we do have 2 monthly newspapers specifically for downtown dwellers). When are you going to hold the event? Good question. IÂm planning on getting input from the local businesses that might see increased business as a result of this event. IÂd guess that late spring/early summer would be best from that perspective, because IÂd think that the earlier in the gardening season this is held, the more business theyÂre likely to get from attendees. OTOH, an event in late summer/early fall would more likely have better weather and neighborhood gardens would probably be looking better than early in the season. Can you maybe add a 'farmer's market' or produce sharing of some sort? ThatÂs an idea we should throw into the mix. There are a number of farmers markets throughout our city in the summer, but mixing something into the food vendor area might work. Parking/Potties/Food WeÂve dealt with the parking and food vendors before for our home tours. Parking is on the street, and we set up food vendors in one of the parks. WeÂve not had to set up port a potties with the home toursÂ.there have always been some public buildings included on the tour where restrooms are available. IÂm hoping we can work with some of these public buildings as locations for the presentations; that would also take care of the restrooms. 501c3 Yes, our neighborhood has a 501c3 foundation which we utilize for fundraising, etc, so...

We looked at that rose yesterday and think the tree is probably "only" 50-60 feet high,and the rose is going up 40 feet or a bit more. There's still room at the top for the rose to climb, and we believe that it will reach the top, and cascade down once it has no more place to grow. Ann, I think you are right about the microclimate. The cemetery was originally a sand hill, created from the Sacramento river. Its high ground, in a city second only to New Orleans in risk of flooding, is why the cemetery was established there in 1850. Up at the top of the hill, where the banksiae is planted, is the sandiest soil of all. The curator has always suspected that the water table is pretty high. When we have removed roses, we are sometimes astonished at how big and deep the roses grow. I told some of the sheriff's crew to remove an Alberic Barbier, and went to lunch. When I checked on them, they were standing chest-high in the hole, still digging! It is a cemetery, for heaven's sake - we don't want to dig TOO deep! - so I had them stop, even though there were still substantial roots to be seen. Many of our roses grow bigger in the cemetery than elsewhere. We don't prune hard, we rarely feed, and we do usually provide regular, weekly water. But it must be something about the microclimate/microsoil. A funny thing about that banksiae - it's only been there a dozen years, and I'm told that a volunteer cut it off a few years after it was planted. All of that growth is from the last eight or nine years. Anita

What a wonderful afternoon! We had a very nice turnout -- 14 people and over 200 plants, everything from orchids and peonies to coneflowers and ajuga -- and some plants I'd never seen before! I picked up some lovely things; Attar of Roses peony, brunnera, purple daylilies and a boatload of lambs ear that I really needed! Plus a lovely thistle feeder that will be perfect for luring the finches to my bedroom window. We had some great door prizes -- and plenty of peonies for all! The food was great -- as always. The sausage/rotini casserole, the broccoli salad and the orange cake were special standouts. But it was all good! And as always, the people were wonderful. Some folks I know well, like Jeanne and Mary, and some I've met before, like Jenny and Sarah. Some folks were new to the fall swap, like Elizabeth and Deb. And some people I haven't met before, like Sessa, Denise, Linda and Judy! I know I'm forgetting people, but I won't forget what a great time we had. A lbunch of us lingered around the firepit long after the official 'swapping' was over, swapping stories. As always, a huge thanks to Terri D -- one of the most gracious hostesses I know!

George, is your garden on the Westport tour? The Guilford Garden tour is June 10th. I usually go to this one every year and have never been disappointed. A few of the gardens are usually within walking distance of the Guilford Green and there are plenty of good restaurants in town when the lunch bell tolls, a couple right on the harbor. Guilford's Secret Gardens Spectacular private gardens around the historic Guilford Green and in the countryside will be open to the public on June 10 for the annual "Secret Gardens of Guilford" tour. Visitors will be welcome to stroll through the private sanctuaries from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shuttle buses will transport visitors from the centrally located Bishop's Orchards on Route 1 to a countryside destination on the tour. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 on the day of the tour, which will take place rain or shine. For tickets or information, please call 203-458-6516. This year's tour will include several gardens with water features. Among the sites on the tour are new gardens of neighbors who have shared plants and ideas, and some gardens from previous tours that have been reworked to create new effects. Proceeds benefit the Guilford ABC program, which provides "A Better Chance" for academically talented young women of color. The program, which is in its 29th year, has sent more than 100 young women from inner cities to Guilford High School and on to distinguished colleges and careers. Also on the 10th there is a garden tour in Newington and one in West Hartford. Tomorrow is Farmington. Usually I go to this one too but last year I was just not impressed by it at all. When I bought the tickets the day of the tour I overheard one of the volunteers tell someone that is was just "regular people's" gardens that year. What she probably meant was there were no real high end or historic homes on the tour and there weren't but that wasn't the issue for me. At least half of the gardens were not ready for a public tour. A couple of them looked like they hadn't even been spring cleaned yet. I brought a friend who had never been on a garden tour before and even she was puzzled. Oh well, usually it's a good tour so maybe it will be back on track this year. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Farmington Garden Tour