by Ann McCulloh

Put on some comfortable walking shoes, grab your camera/phone, a GardenWalk guide (available at Dave’s supermarkets and online at https://www.gardenwalkcleveland.org/guide), and  a water bottle. Gardeners in seven of Cleveland’s distinctive neighborhoods are inviting you to gawk, snoop and tarry in their yards and patios like an old friend. Marvel at gardens that may be breathtakingly colorful, wildly clever and or oddly quirky, but always unique and individual.

GardenWalk Cleveland is a totally free, self-guided tour of private gardens, community gardens, and home orchards in neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio. The event is entirely volunteer-fueled, from the tireless organizers to the hosting gardeners. An annual event since 2011, the neighborhoods chosen to be on tour vary each year. Note that this year the neighborhoods will be split between the two days of the GardenWalk!

This year’s venues spread from West to East, with West side neighborhoods Detroit Shoreway, West Park, and Old Brooklyn on display Saturday July 14^th from 10am to 5pm.

The East side neighborhoods of Little Italy, Collinwood, Fairfax and Broadway Slavic Village will welcome you on Sunday July 15^th, also from 10am-5pm.

Pick up a Guide before the GardenWalk begins at most area Dave’s Supermarkets, starting July 1st! The Guide will soon be live on the GardenWalk Cleveland web site at https://www.gardenwalkcleveland.org/.

Guides with maps and details will also be available in several garden site “refreshment stations” throughout the neighborhoods as well. Prior to setting out you can locate an information station by checking online on the GardenWalk web site. Each clickable neighborhood page from the “Guide” page will list the refreshment station addresses. The stations will be indicated in the printed Guide, as well as on the GardenWalk banner in front of the property. Refreshment stations were a new feature of GardenWalk Cleveland last year and are great spots to garner a guide, rest and refresh, pick up some tips about “don’t-miss” features and purchase raffle tickets.

The raffle prize this year is a wheelbarrow stuffed with garden related items valued at over $600. One ticket costs $5, 5 tickets cost $20. If you don’t need garden tools and a wheelbarrow you can leave a donation in the box to help pay for GardenWalk next year!

This is always a fun, eye-opening event whether you are a gardener, new to Cleveland,  or just interested in knowing more about the neighbors and neighborhoods that make up this remarkable city!