If you’ve ever wanted to have the best garden on the block but didn’t know how, now’s your chance to learn. On Sunday, June 14, the Mt. Airy Learning Tree (MALT) will be hosting its annual Hidden Gardens Tour.
A neighborhood tradition for more than 38 years, the tour offers attendees the opportunity to visit private gardens filled with gorgeous trees, vibrant flowers, vegetable beds, and a mix of native and nonnative plants. Guests can meet neighbors, gather ideas for their own landscapes, and enjoy conversations with gardeners who will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions and share inspiration.
As part of the tour’s long-standing tradition, the gardens remain “hidden” until the day of the event. Attendees will receive a booklet, map and wristband at check-in between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Ned Wolf Park, located at 7018 McCallum St., at the corner of McCallum and West Ellet streets in Mt. Airy. The gardens will remain open until 4 p.m. The tour takes place rain or shine. Because the gardens are located throughout the neighborhood, driving is recommended, though a bike route will also be available.
This year’s self-paced, self-guided tour also includes a Native Plant Stroll in West Mt. Airy. Native gardening refers to the use of plants that are not invasive to the surrounding area, says Hap Haven, one of the MALT volunteers.
“In this year’s tour is an idea that I call the 50/50 solution,” Haven said. “It’s basically saying that we should be meeting halfway, we should have 50% of native plant material in our yards, or more.”
Education about native gardening is a relatively new addition to the Hidden Gardens Tour that was created out of necessity, Haven says.
“That’s why I pitched it,” he said. “I had already gone to some other places and they were like, nah. But then I thought, wait a minute, the Hidden Gardens Tour is an institution.”
He said the Hidden Gardens Tour was the perfect place to educate people on native plant gardening because of the easy access to attendees and the low-stress environment, as opposed to some other ways of teaching about native plant gardening.
“The common thing is like a 70/30 — you need to have at least 70% of native plant material in your garden to make a difference,” he said. “The average gardener is going to be intimidated by that. The average gardener is going to say, you want me to rip out 70% of my garden and put in native plants?”
Haven first pitched the idea to MALT executive director Janet Greenwood Gala, who was sold on the idea. Since then, the Native Plant Stroll has become a vital part of the Hidden Gardens Tour.
Founded in 1980, Mt. Airy Learning Tree is a nonprofit organization offering more than 750 classes annually to approximately 3,800 students. Held in churches, schools, businesses, homes, outdoor spaces in the Wissahickon, and other community locations throughout Northwest Philadelphia, MALT classes bring neighbors together through educational and recreational experiences. MALT is guided by the motto “Neighbors Teaching Neighbors.”
The annual Hidden Gardens Tour fundraising event supports MALT programs. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 on the day of the tour. To purchase tickets or learn more about classes, programs and events, visit mtairylearningtree.org or call 215-843-6333. MALT’s office is at 6601 Greene St.
