Tours reveal gardens' secret beauty

Chicago Botanic Garden: Earth Day Walk in search of wildflowers, April 28; Heritage and Lakeside Gardens tours, May 5; tree care tours, May 12 and 19. Spring Garden Walks, Saturdays, 1 p.m., April 28-May 26, free. Ticketed tours, $4-$32, include tram tours (starting in April), walking tours, group tours, behind-the-scenes tours of greenhouses and laboratories, a "Bright Encounters Tour" by tram (Heritage, Rose and English Walled Gardens), twilight tours on summer evenings. Boxed lunch option on some tours. Glencoe, Ill.; 847-835-5440.

Denver Botanic Gardens: Drop-in tours, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays; themes include general highlights, water gardens, trees and other subjects; 720-865-3533.

Desert Botanical Garden: Daily public tours, "Taste of the Desert" tours, nighttime "Summer Flashlight" tours (free with admission). Beginning March 1, birdwatching and spring wildflower tours; Phoenix, Ariz.; 480-941-1225.

Garden in the Woods: Open April 14-Oct. 31. New England Wild Flower Society offers tours ($10 per person) of seasonal highlights, cart tours for visitors needing mobility assistance. Framingham, Mass., 508-877-7630.

Huntington Botanical Gardens: Informal, walk-in tours available with admission. Tours requiring reservations include estate tours, $17; and "Tea & Tour," $49 (groups of four or more). San Marino, Calif.; 626-405-2240 (for tours).

Middleton Place: "Camellia Walks" tours (free with admission) focusing on camellias; 11 a.m., March 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24; reservations required. Charleston, S.C., 843-556-6020.

Missouri Botanical Garden: Guided walking tours (free with admission) offered daily at 1 p.m. Reservations required for tours of the park's Woodland Garden, Ottoman Garden, George Washington Carver Garden and more; fees vary. St. Louis, Mo.; 800-642-8842.

Monticello: Guided tours of Thomas Jefferson's restored flower and vegetable gardens, tree grove and fruit orchards offered eight times daily April 1-Oct. 31 (free with admission). Charlottesville, Va.; 434-984-9822.

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum: http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org or 415-661-1316. Daily docent-led tours, family walks and birding walks (free with admission).

Tours Of Private Gardens
Atlanta: Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour, May 12-13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 404-876-5859. Tickets $30 ($20 in advance). Fundraiser for the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Tour includes 11 private gardens, from a Japanese-themed garden to a woodland garden.

Charleston, S.C.:

Natchez, Miss.: Symphony of Gardens Tour, May 4-5. Thirteen town and estate gardens open to the public for self-guided tours, including Monmouth Plantation and Rosalie, an antebellum house owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Tickets $7 and up.

Newport, R.I.: Secret Garden Tour, June 15-17; 401-847-0514. Self-guided walking tour of private gardens in the Historic Point section. Tickets, $25 ($20 in advance).

Virginia: Historic Garden Week in Virginia, sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia, April 21-28, 804-644-7776. Thirty tours, ranging from private homes and James River plantations to the University of Virginia Pavilion Gardens, which were designed by Thomas Jefferson. Tickets $10-$40.

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