This garden is “less like a garden and more like a secret world waiting to be discovered,” said Adrienne Liggett, who’s helping put on this year’s Garden Walk in Ross. (Photo by Jennifer Skinner Photography)
This garden in Ross was inspired by the English countryside. It’s one of the gardens you can explore during this year’s Garden Walk. (Photo by Jennifer Skinner Photography)
One of the gardens you can explore during this year’s Garden Walk in Ross. (Photo by Jennifer Skinner Photography)
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This garden is “less like a garden and more like a secret world waiting to be discovered,” said Adrienne Liggett, who’s helping put on this year’s Garden Walk in Ross. (Photo by Jennifer Skinner Photography)
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If you love strolling through gorgeous gardens, this year’s Ross Garden Walk tour may be your dream afternoon.
Presented by the Ross School PTO, this biannual tour returns this spring with five enchanting gardens, fun garden experiences and a stylish marketplace, all along a pretty and walkable quarter-mile route. Golf carts are available for seniors.
The self-guided event invites guests to wander through some of the town’s most beautiful private gardens and is one of the area’s most anticipated spring traditions.
“We selected gardens that feel completely different from one another,” said Adrienne Liggett, co-president of the Ross School PTO, who is overseeing the tour. Clara Ditter and Nousha Hagenbuch are the tour’s co-chairs.
“I think attendees will be truly wowed by the grandeur and magnificent details in each garden,” Liggett said. “They genuinely reflect the unique point of view of each homeowner.
“From our Zen garden featuring textured, layered plantings and sculptures flown in from Cambodia to our English country garden, where the original tree layout was overseen by John McLaren (the celebrated landscape architect behind San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park), every garden tells its own remarkable story.”
When the garden event was first conceived in 1996 as the Beyond the Garden Gate — Secret Gardens of Ross tour, shuttle buses transported guests between the gardens.
However, since 2024, both the format and the name have changed.
“Rather than shuttling guests between locations, we chose gardens within close walking distance to create a more age-friendly event with a greater sense of community and connection,” she said. “At the end of the day, that’s what it’s truly about — a beautiful afternoon outdoors sharing a special experience with others.”
That’s important to Liggett.
“There’s a real sense of community at this event that you simply don’t find at other garden tours,” she said. “Because all the gardens are located within a quarter mile of each other, guests can walk between them, and the journey itself is almost as enjoyable as the gardens.”
As for the gardens, here are some teasers.
• “The Wild Garden” feels “less like a garden and more like a secret world waiting to be discovered,” she said. Expect lush plantings, unexpected corners and a sense of adventure.
• The “English Country Garden” offers visitors the experience of walking through a romantic, cottage-style landscape.
“Step through the gate and you’ll feel transported to the English countryside,” Liggett said. “There’s history, romance and mastery all in one property.”
There will be a watercolor painting demonstration in this garden.
• “The Farmstead Garden,” an “elevated working farm with its sprawling edible garden, chickens, vineyard, and cutting flowers, is a heartfelt love letter to the homeowner’s farming roots,” Liggett said.
Experiences in this garden will include demonstrations on wool, floral arranging and homemade soda making.
• “The Zen Garden” is a serene space with a quiet koi pond, a Buddha sculpture, a dense bamboo grove and exotic plants that evokes tranquility.
A mahjong pop-up will also be in this garden.
• “The Treehouse Odyssey” is sure to prompt both curiosity and a smile.
“It’s a magical treehouse village in the sky,” Liggett said. “It will make every adult wish they were a kid again. It’s pure wonder, suspended among the branches.”
Look for the drive-in movie theater, sports court and campfire setup.
The tour doesn’t end with the private gardens.
“Café Ross Garden is right in the heart of the tour,” Liggett said. “Guests can stop for a gourmet salad prepared by celebrity chef Ryan Scott, a glass of wine and a sweet treat.”
Against the musical backdrop of Laurent Fourgo and his French band, guests can also browse the beautiful offerings at the marketplace from vendors such as Maison Marin, Bernadette’s Workshop, Ashley Morgan Designs, Blue Dot Blossoms, Vertly and West Marin Culture Shop.
“Come ready to be inspired and to shop, as this curated garden marketplace brings together the most beautiful home and garden brands under one gorgeous sprawling outdoor setting,” she said.
Altogether, the event features seven unique stops.
“We recommend allowing at least two hours, but many guests enjoy staying for the entire afternoon,” Liggett said.
For Liggett, the heart of the event isn’t just the gardens.
“It’s really about the experience,” she said. “An afternoon outside, walking through beautiful spaces, seeing friends, meeting neighbors and discovering something wonderful behind every gate.”
Details: The event is from 1 to 5 p.m. May 17 throughout Ross. Wristbands, maps and garden resource guides will be mailed to registered guests two weeks before the event. Admission is $75 to $175. Get tickets at rossbearspto.com/gardenwalk.
Show off
If you have a beautiful or interesting Marin garden or a newly designed Marin home, I’d love to know about it.
Please send an email describing either one (or both), what you love most about it and a photograph or two. I will post the best ones in upcoming columns. Your name will be published, and you must be over 18 years old and a Marin resident.
PJ Bremier writes on home, garden, design and entertaining topics every Saturday. She may be contacted at P.O. Box 412, Kentfield 94914, or at pj@pjbremier.com.
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