Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

'Duchess Pinky' house on East Sac Garden Tour

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAY 9, 2019

The Duchess Pinky garden will be part of the East

Sacramento Garden Tour this year. (Photo by Michelle

Drewes, courtesy east Sacramento Garden Tour)

English garden of local legend featured during popular event

In a Mother’s Day weekend tradition, thousands of garden lovers will be walking through the Fabulous Forties on Saturday and Sunday, admiring seven private gardens usually hidden from public view.

It’s the 21st annual East Sacramento Garden Tour, a major fundraiser for David Lubin School.

“It’s a perfect family outing for Mother’s Day weekend,” said volunteer Mary Odbert, one of the tour’s organizers.

Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 on tour day. Children age 12 and younger are admitted free. Proceeds support arts, music and after-school programs at Lubin School on M Street.

During the tour, Lubin School also hosts a huge boutique of only-in-Sacramento handmade gifts and food items, great for Mother’s Day giving. More than 40 local vendors are participating.

“All the gardens are within walking distance of David Lubin School,” said Odbert. “That way, people can stroll through the neighborhood.”

Last year, more than 3,000 patrons took part in the tour, thanks in part to the “Lady Bird” house. Seen in Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-nominated movie, the big blue colonial mansion was a major draw.

This weekend’s tour features a real local celebrity, or at least her garden.

According to “intriguing neighborhood lore,” Duchess Pinky often sat on her front lawn, playing the harp and drinking champagne, Odbert said. Pinky no longer lives in the ivy-covered house with brick pillars and wrought-iron gates, but her garden is much the same – an English cottage fantasy.

Another featured stop illustrates a major modern makeover.

“The back of this lovely East Sac home was extended further into the original backyard with a remodel,” Odbert said. “The new house footprint meant that the original pool was in an inconvenient spot. (The home owners) hired Michael Glassman and Associates to redesign the yard. He and his team created a lovely hardscape that maximizes the space and completely moved the pool to the left side of the yard, which made room for dining and living areas.”

For the tour, Sacramento designer Kerrie Kelly will embellish these outdoor patio rooms, Odbert added.

Besides the gardens and boutique, the tour offers tea, wine and other refreshments at Sutter Lawn, Sacramento’s oldest private neighborhood club. (No reservations are necessary for tea this year.) Parked in front of the homes will be vintage cars borrowed from the California Automobile Museum.

“We tried this last year and (the car buffs) enjoyed it as much as we did,” Odbert said.

Start the tour at Lubin School, 3535 M St., Sacramento. Tour hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 11 and 12.

Details and tickets: www.eastsacgardentour.com

This shows a portion of a Michael Glassman-redesigned backyard that will be on the East Sacramento Garden Tour. (Photo by Mary Odbert, courtesy East Sacramento Garden Tour)

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

East Sacramento garden tour Fabulous Forties gardening Sacramento Michael Glassman walking tour events landscaping flowers

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Thanks to our sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!