April No Frills Urban Garden Tour

9 a.m. – Saturday, April 20

We have four gardens lined up within two blocks on the south side of Tom Green Street between Market and Austin Streets in Brenham. Best parking will be in the 1400 block of S. Park near Molly’s house, which is in the middle of the other properties. There is also easy street parking on Church Street near Jenn’s, where we will start the tour.

Garden 1 – 9 a.m. 1402 Church St
(corner of W. Tom Green, across the street from the Alton Elementary parking lot)
Our tour starts at Jenn and Shawn McLoughlin’s “no dig” edibles garden. Jenn and Shawn co-own the online garden supply business All About the Garden and share their knowledge with nearly 13,000 Instagram followers (plus fans on a YouTube channel, a podcast and a Facebook page). Their large “no dig” food forest – a method they adopted from the British plants man Charles Dowding, based on building healthy soils — fills most of the lot beside the historic home they share with their four kids.

Garden 2 – 9:30 a.m. 104 E. Tom Green St.
Kristen Meaders’ beautiful cottage garden surrounding her 1930s bungalow combines natives, perennials, and vegetables, with an emphasis on pollinator plants. She is working her way gradually towards a complete unlawning. Kristen grows her own worms, so her soil is super healthy!

Garden 3 – 10 a.m. 102 E. Tom Green St.
Phyllis Danna shares a property line with Kristen, who is her cousin. Phyllis’s lovely yard is mannered and traditional – white picket fence and all — with a lovely mix of natives and perennials that support pollinators.

Garden 4 – 10:30 a.m. 1404 S. Park St.
Molly Glentzer’s garden has been evolving for 12 years. Last year she began the process of unlawning the front yard with as many natives as possible. She still lets alyssum take over the bare spots and has a weakness for old garden roses(about 20 varieties), irises and bulbs. The back is mostly lawn with borders of shade-tolerant perennials and natives, a rock swale, and a small container garden for vegetables. The emphasis throughout is on plants and trees that support pollinators and birds.