South Seminole Heights Secret Garden Tour Needs Your Help

The South Seminole Heights Civic Association is attempting to plan a new event to highlight one of its most cherished characteristics; gardens.

The "Secret Gardens Tour" would take place next April if it can be planned, but organizer Nanette O'Hara and the South Seminole Heights Civic Association need the help of local residents and volunteers first.

"We are looking for help in planning and also if there are any South Seminole Heights residents who would like to have their gardens featured on the tour, we'd like them to get involved as well," O'Hara said. "We've already identified six or seven homes that we want to have on the tour, but I'm sure there are a lot more than that out there that we don't know about." 

The focus of the tour will be back yard gardens in the area. It's a years old idea that O'Hara has finally decided to develop in an attempt to showcase the South Seminole Heights area.

"I think this could be a signature event for our neighborhood and showcase what is special about this area," O'Hara said. "The other Seminole Heights neighborhoods all have their own signature events, but we don't. I'm a gardener, so when I heard the idea for this event it always stayed in my mind because this area has so many gardens and some really creative residents who have incorporated art into their gardens."

The event is being organized by O'Hara with the backing of the South Seminole Heights Civic Association. While they aim to bring South Seminole Heights residents into the planning of the event, O'Hara welcomes help from anyone from around all of "The Heights" neighborhoods.

"Anyone who wants to volunteer is welcome," O'Hara said. "Ideally, they would be South Seminole Heights residents, but they don't need to be. Any residents who want to help us do publicity, logistics, help the homeowners get their yards ready, develop the criteria for selecting the sites, create the tour materials and promotional stuff, we need help with it all. We just want to make it a tour we do every year."

Further details such as how much the event will cost, and what involvement the Seminole Heights Community Garden have yet to be sorted. The tour will feature a total of 8-10 gardens.

To volunteer or learn more about the event and how to become involved, e-mail O'Hara at nholland2@verizon.net.