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Step 1
Select a date. May and June are often the best weather for garden tours, but check the calendar from the past few years to be sure you're not competing with an established tour.
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Step 2
Select the gardens. Contact local realtors, your volunteers and local designers to get nominees. You want to view the gardens at around the time you'll be offering the tour, about a year in advance. Consider access, parking, any hazards and the mix of gardens that you'd like to include in the tour.
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Step 3
Get insurance. Your organization likely has access already to umbrella insurance, so make sure you let the company know of the event in case of any falls or parking mishaps.
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Step 4
Create a brochure. This can include a description of the gardens and any advertising or sponsorships that you've been able to generate as well as directions for the tour route.
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Step 5
Organize volunteers. Set the volunteers up with specific tasks and specific times. Make sure they know where they need to be when and if they will have access to bathrooms. Volunteers will typically greet attendees and ensure their safety on any stairs or pathways.
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Step 6
Advertise in your community. Contact the local home and garden editor for your local paper, check with the Chamber of Commerce, advertise with the garden club and put flyers up in local stores to create a buzz for your event.
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Step 7
Sell tickets. Your volunteers can sell tickets in addition to using local nurseries or garden furniture stores as tickets outlets. If your volunteer organization is web-enabled, you can even sell tickets online by linking with a provider like Paypal.
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Step 8
Create and place signs. Using balloons and real estate signs, you can direct your attendees along the main turns. It's helpful to put a map and directions in the brochure itself so that the signs simply augment the provided information.
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Step 9
Set up any staging. While the gardens themselves are often so beautiful that they don't require additional staging, you might find a local staging company, linen company or garden furniture provider who would like to display their wares. Make sure you agree in advance about the delivery and pick up of any items in addition to how breakage should be managed. In return, the providers might receive free advertising in your brochure or at the garden.
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Step 10
Provide refreshments. Often local cafes will donate coffee and pastries if you ask in advance. You can also get local grocery stores to donate bottled water. Just be sure to have garbage and recycling available so that the homeowners aren't burden with additional garbage as a result of opening their garden for you to use.
