Spring offers a packed calendar of area garden tours

-- April 27, Curtis Park Home & Garden Tour. Tickets already are on sale for this tour, a fundraiser for the Sierra 2 Center and the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. The five homes include a Crocker Village estate and a "tiki hut" garage conversion. A parade of classic cars by the Capitol A’s Model A Ford Club is part of the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Curtis Park itself will be the site of food trucks, information displays and live jazz. Tickets can be purchased online here.

-- April 27, Gardens Gone Native, presented by the Sac Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. This self-guided tour from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. is free but registration is requested. Sign up here and receive a map and tour brochure about a week before the tour. Hint: It's impossible to see all 30-plus gardens in one day, so when the map is released, plan a driving route. I like to choose a neighborhood I haven't explored before. And don't be afraid to ask questions about the plants and the gardener's choices.

-- April 27-28, Gardens of Folsom. The Folsom Garden Club presents its 22nd annual tour of Folsom gardens. Seven private gardens, plus two bonus gardens, are on this year's tour. Artists will be active in the gardens, and the event also includes a raffle, a plant sale, a bake sale and food trucks. Garden experts will be on duty to answer questions. Tickets are $20, available starting April 1. Information available here.

-- May 5, Annual Pence Gallery Garden Tour. The nonprofit art gallery in downtown Davis presents a Sunday tour featuring five private gardens in the university town. As befitting its sponsor and beneficiary, the tour features artists painting in each of the featured gardens. Tickets are $25-25, and go on sale April 5. Information available here. Note: This comes the day after a different Davis tour on May 4, the Stories on Stage Garden Tour that Debbie wrote about this week. See her post here.

-- May 5, Colonial Heights Garden Tour. This Sunday tour is presented by the Colonial Heights Neighborhood Association. The charming Sacramento neighborhood east of Stockton Boulevard dates to 1910. Colonial Park will be the headquarters for the event, which also will feature vendors and a plant/seed swap. Information here. 

-- May 11-12, East Sac Garden Tour. Tickets go on sale April 1 for this very popular tour, a Mother's Day weekend tradition. A fundraiser for David Lubin Elementary School, this walkable tour of beautiful East Sacramento gardens also features extras including a gift boutique, a cafe and the Sutter Lawn Wine Garden. Information is available here.

-- May 18, Tahoe Park Garden Tour. The Sacramento neighborhood again will host a tour of a variety of gardens, including drought-tolerant ones. Tickets and information are available here.

Also of note: CNPS Ambassador Patricia Carpenter typically opens her garden for a Late Spring Ramble on a Sunday in latter May. The tour is free but requires registration; signups are not yet available.