1. Woodlands Garden

920 Scott Blvd.
Woodlands Garden is a seven-acre oasis hidden away in the heart of busy Decatur. Trails meander through towering poplar and oak trees, past a screened cedar pavilion and an open amphitheater, through gardens full of blooms in all seasons, and down to a stream.
The woods are being planted with trees, shrubs and perennials native to the Georgia Piedmont, and historic gardens around the house have collections of hydrangeas, camellias, Japanese maples and more. Workshops are scheduled throughout the weekend.
Parking at Westchester, the City Schools of Decatur main office. Handicapped parking available on site.
Sponsor: Pam Hughes, Jenny Pruitt & Associates

2. Pat Richter and Martin Torres

148 Erie Ave.
The front yard with a cascading Japanese maple and many colorful blooms was the focus of Pat and Martin's efforts until the 2003 renovation of their back yard into a walking garden.

Black bamboo screens the round patio. The bricks embedded in the terrace border were salvaged from a renovation of this bungalow home. A gravel path winds around new plantings and mature trees including a large white oak and a hickory. A favorite is the Red Blaze maple, spectacular in the fall, which commemorates the birth of their daughter.

Cherry and English laurel and fragrant osmanthus, an autumn favorite, provide a screen across the back and sides of this space. A mix of shade and sun plants is accented by stones and garden art throughout the compact setting.

3. Marilyn and Dean Hammond

209 Michigan Ave.
Neighbors know well the disrepair of this house and yard before the amazing 2005 renovation by Bill Mealor. Dean and Marilyn began work in 2007 on their "little jewel." Plants and trees were chosen for their screening characteristics, and a new fence has hastened this process.

The left side of this garden is new but the right side has a mature camellia and hydrangeas from long ago. The dark green leaves of the bottlebrush buckeye are buttery yellow in the fall, and white spiked flowers (resembling bottle brushes) form 8-12 inch flowers in July.

The bluestone patio has become another room of the house and is used almost year round. Note the potted herb garden on the ledge steps nestled beneath a stand of evergreens.
Around the right side of the house is a chaste tree. This fragrant deciduous shrub blooms with long, narrow spikes of purple flowers from May to September.
Sponsor: Dancing Goats Coffee Bar

4. Lauren and Joey Burby

128 Superior Ave.
The front yard of this updated bungalow is a favorite place. David McMillan of New Moon Gardens created a plan to accentuate the clean lines of the Pennsylvania bluestone porch with a variety of textures in shrubs and plantings. The driveway leads to a child-friendly green space with a tire swing. A raised, circular vegetable garden is planned for the sunny space between the shade of mature holly and fig trees, which also shelter some special cement accent pieces.

These four homes are within walking distance of one another, with on-street parking.

5. Kristin and Billy Allin

134 Superior Ave.
Who could imagine that this family home hides two acres of wooded area located behind Clairemont Avenue homes? The owners of Decatur's Cakes and Ale restaurant purchased this package five years ago, but it was so overgrown, it was hard to tell what was there. Boak Landscaping developed a plan for the property, which continues to evolve.

Enter along the drive into a romantic garden with just enough grass for children to play. The dwarf weeping red bud tree is a special feature of the shade garden. A water feature invites the curious back toward the old iron gate and onto the winding footpath.

Stroll through the woods and look up to marvel at the majestic pecan and pine trees overhead. Beneath an opening in their canopy is the vegetable garden, which supplies Chef Billy with inspiration and fresh produce for the restaurant's menu.

Sponsor: Keller Williams Metro Atlanta

6. Sue Harley

522 Bridlewood Circle
Sue's garden started with a plan for composting and growing vegetables, like her ancestors, when she moved to this house 21 years ago. She returned from the nursery with flowers instead and hasn't stopped. The compact yard is overflowing with plants of all shapes and sizes in and around several sitting areas, whimsical yard art and pottery.

The sunny front yard has several specimen trees with interesting bark, vines and a charming bog-in-a-pot. The shady cool back yard features hydrangea and hellebore collections from around the world. Friends and family have contributed to the garden throughout its evolution. Friend Brooks Garcia has influenced design and plant selection.

Sponsor: Resurgens Bank

7. Pandra and Michael Williams

712 Sycamore Dr.
This amazing garden began with a group effort to rescue plants with permission from land being cleared for development. A nonprofit organization, EccoAddendum, was created whose mission is to preserve and protect the biodiversity of natural areas in the Georgia Piedmont region.

The specimen beds throughout the recently expanded back yard are for seed gathering and cuttings for propagation of native plants. The results of this phase are in the many pots that will eventually be returned to regional forests and urban areas to create sustainable landscapes. Hearts a'bursting, beauty berry, Virginia sweetspire, cinnamon fern, three varieties of trillium and Stone Mountain daisies are just a few examples. A large big-leaf magnolia watches over the operation of this important place.

Gardens 7 & 8 are within walking distance of each other. Parking is available on Fairview. The nature preserve is at the end of Fairview Street. There is no parking on Sycamore.

Sponsor: Emory University and the Clifton Community Partnership

8. Glenn Creek Nature Preserve

Fairview Street
Acquired in 2004, this two-acre undeveloped area in the city of Decatur is a designated Greenspace and an urban watershed. The nature preserve includes a forest, a creek, wildlife and native plants to be enjoyed by residents. Volunteers from surrounding Decatur Heights and Glennwood Estates neighborhoods have removed invasive plants, created trails and viewing platforms, built bridges and maintained the water quality of the creek.

9. Eleanore and Gilbert Kulers

247 Mountain View St.
The 2002 renovated house and garden were a great find for the Kulers. As you enter the side fence near a giant cryptomeria, a private courtyard for gathering and dining invites you to sit and listen to the bubbling water feature. The charming fish pond is surrounded by a collection of unusual conifers.

Across the driveway, the yard opens into a sunny space ringed by stately evergreens. The design plans for something in bloom year round. An arrangement of stones and plants provides a focal point and contrast in textures. The eclectic mosaic art is on loan from artist Carol Shockley of Backyard Junkie.

Parking for these gardens is on Mountain View and Hillcrest. Please walk down Oak Lane.

10. Susan Devine and Jeff Hayden

228 Oak Lane
The stone mailbox marks the entrance to Susan and Jeff's secret garden. A stone Koi pond and waterfall set the stage for this wonderful side yard with a unique history. A former property owner was a member of the Atlanta Men's Garden Club and added the border of hollies. Granite and limestone in walkways, walls and bench were salvaged from old buildings in Decatur and Atlanta, including the old Hastings Nursery amphitheatre. Japanese maples, azaleas and hydrangeas are a combination of new and rescued plants.

Construction of the home has been in progress since 1997. The most recent addition is the screened porch designed to allow some growing room to what experts say may be the largest tulip poplar in DeKalb County. The hemlock evergreen lends a mystical quality to the garden. Wooden beams at the entrance of the home are made from trees removed from the property when the house was built

11. Carol and Mike Lynn

341 Shadowmoor Dr.
The Lynns consider their garden a "do-it-yourself, learn as you go, constantly evolving work in progress." It has many distinctive features in curbside and driveway beds enjoyed by passersby. Back yard shade and sun gardens include areas where the homeowners can appreciate their hard work from a hammock or a hidden swing. Revision of the central back yard was necessitated by the loss of a large tree, parts of which are used as a landscape feature.

This year's garden projects received special inspiration when Carol and Mike's daughter announced plans for an August outdoor wedding. A new bridge now highlights the transition from one garden area to the next and spans a drainage ditch that has been transformed into a creek bed.

Park along Shadowmoor Drive in either direction.

Sponsor: Russell and Herrera, PC

12. Jerilyn Bedingfield and Peter Aaro-Hansen

223 Winnona Dr.
This is the second garden in Winona Park transformed by this couple into fun and functional spaces.

Four giant western red cedars enclose the front yard and shelter a classic shade garden. Behind the gate, the visitor is greeted by Heritage Black Java chickens and a pet bunny. A kitchen garden flanked by a gigantic bay laurel, several olive trees and a greenhouse complete this working side yard. From the screened porch, family and friends relax and enjoy the view toward the Winnona Park schoolyard, framed by two towering sweet gum trees.

A highlight of the back garden is the collection of succulents in all types of containers. A Japanese spa with hot and cold pools and a pirate tree house in a giant water oak create playful areas for all ages.

These gardens are within walking distance of one another. Parking is along the street.

Sponsor: Coldwell Banker The Condo Store

13. Amy Sickeler

231 Winnona Dr.
When she saw this 1918 Decatur landmark home, Amy Sickeler had to have it. After 20 years of providing tender loving care to the house, she has now turned her focus to the nearly one-acre garden.

Enter to the right past hosta, spreading yew and other shade plants and notice the stone ground-gutter along the side of the house, which channels rainwater from the roof and transfers it to a cistern buried in the back of the yard. A large pecan tree shades rows of hydrangeas, and a Rose of Sharon beckons the visitor to a group of raised beds at the back of the property. Blueberries, herbs and edible flowers will someday be prolific here.

Grasses along the fence remind the owner of her family's North Dakota ranch. Muscadine vines overlook the wooded area. Newly cleared paths meander along the border of a bird sanctuary and bifurcated tulip poplars. Pieces of a fallen tree make a playful sculpture.

14. Winnona Park Elementary School

510 Avery St.
Sponsor: Winnona Park Neighborhood Association

15. Oakhurst Community Garden

435 Oakview Rd.
Come and see the latest addition to the garden – an earthen playhouse made of a clay, sand, and straw mixture decorated with glass bottles and other recycled materials. But that's not all – the garden has many other interesting features for adults and children to enjoy: 27 garden plots planted and maintained by community members, a labyrinth, beehives, blooming flowers, turtles, a towering fig tree, a carnivorous bog and chickens.

Sponsor: Oakhurst Neighborhood Association

16. Ryan Gainey

129 Emerson Ave.
The much-photographed garden of Ryan Gainey, internationally renowned garden designer and author of books including The Well-Placed Weed, is as historic as it is beautiful. Mr. Gainey's three city lots were once the home of a thriving commercial nursery business, founded and managed by Mrs. Ara Holcombe.

Mr. Gainey purchased the property from the Holcombe family in 1982, incorporating the surviving mule barn, fish pond and greenhouses – the earliest of which dates from 1919 – into his garden design. The unique and creative adaptive reuse of these historic structures means that visitors have a rare glimpse back to a time when many small businesses, often run by women, thrived in neighborhoods of small towns like Decatur.

Evening is a special time to visit these gardens, and the Decatur Garden Tour is fortunate this year to offer visitors this experience.