Garden Host Registration Form 2025
Please complete this form to register to be a garden host site for the 2025 Oak Park Garden Tour on Sunday, July 27, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Registration is due no later than June 15, 2025 - no exceptions! In addition to completing this form, please email at least 1 and up to 5 photos of your garden to  andrew@oakparkgardentour.com

What is a garden host? Garden hosts open their Oak Park gardens to attendees during the tour, guiding them what you grow, answering their questions, and sharing the joy of gardening with neighbors. You do not have to be onsite the whole time or at all to participate, though it sure is fun meeting fellow green thumbs. Some garden hosts choose to offer snacks or refreshments and incorporate child-friendly activities or interactive elements, though that is up to you. We will have more information on placemaking for registered gardeners.

Questions about how to complete this form, what you should include, or anything else? Please contact Andrew Berg, Co-Chair and Executive Producer at andrew@oakparkgardentour.com or 773-562-4981.

Note: We are committed to inclusivity and, as such, we do not charge admission for attendees or a registration fee for garden hosts. However, we ask garden hosts to please consider a donation of $25 or more, if you are able, to support the costs of graphic design, web hosting, sign and flyer printing, and advertising.
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Garden Host Guidelines - You Must:
  1. Be located within the geographic limits of the City of Oak Park, Michigan
  2. Have a garden (of any type) to share with visitors
  3. Affirm and abide by the ethos* of the Oak Park Garden Tour
Ethos of the Oak Park Garden Tour
  • Together, we believe in to Growing Verdant Vibrant Community
  • We are committed to radical inclusivity; we encourage all people to participate
  • If you grow, you are a gardener; think of this as Halloween for plant people
  • Creativity is welcome(ing); we engage visitors of all ages and experience levels with playfulness
  • What's good for nature is good for the neighborhood; we support people, pollinators, and the planet through interactive garden-based experiences that inspire
First Name - Gardner 1 *
Your First Name (or first name of contact person for organization / company)
Last Name - Gardner 1 *
Your Last Name (or last name of contact person for organization / company)
Organization / Company Name
If this is not a residential garden, what is the name of the business, organization, faith community, etc.? Skip this question if you are a home gardener.
Email Address - Gardener 1 *
Your email address
Phone Number - Gardener 1 *
Best number to reach you
First Name - Gardner 2
Second adult in household (spouse, partner, housemate, etc.)
Last Name - Gardener 2
Second adult in household (spouse, partner, housemate, etc.)
Email Address - Gardener 2
Second adult in household (spouse, partner, housemate, etc.)
Phone Number - Gardener 2
Second adult in household (spouse, partner, housemate, etc.)
Street Address *
This is the physical street address of your home/business/house of worship where your garden is located. E.g. 1234 Main St, Oak Park, MI 48237. This is the address that will be listed on the website and on the map.
Garden Name Create a unique name for your garden that represents its spirit, what you grow, the story you tell, etc. (e.g. The Secret Garden of Forest Street; Woodside Memorial Gardens; Edmond’s Oasis, Norse Prairie Homestead; Wild Belle Gardens, The Mise en Place Weigh Station etc.) *
Your Garden's Name - Be Creative!
Garden Access Notes This lets visitors know key information about what is available for viewing, how to get there, parking recommendations/restrictions, etc. If you are only showing the front yard (back yard is off-limits), please include "Front yard only."

Example 1: "Front yard only."

Example 2: "We are located on the corner of _____ and ___. After you view the front yard please walk along the side of the house and enter through the gate."

Example 3: "Parking on our side of the street only, or in school across the street. Backyard garden access via the driveway."

Example 4: "You may access our garden through the back alley of Scotia Plaza at the NW corner of the rear of the complex. We are in the same plaza as Dollar General at the North-western corner of 9-Mile and Scotia."
 *
Garden Description This write-up lets potential visitors know what to look for, what to expect, and why they should want to see it. Be sure to highlight unique features and tell the story of your garden.

Examples:

Example 1: The Secret Garden of Forest Street
Oldest, lawnless property in Oak Park? My Grandmother, Master Gardener, Jeanne Vogt, established this estate between 1986-88. She instilled and inspired in generations of our family a love, fascination and reverence for the natural world of which we are a part. I am honored to have had the opportunity to purchase the property and steward her sanctuary since 2020, transforming it into a space that meets and evolves with the dynamic needs of two young amazing Autistic individuals!

Example 2: The Bees Seem to Like it
A mix of native tall-grass prairie and floodplain/wetland plants that attract a lot of bees. The plants have basically been in charge of their locations and densities for the last 10+ years and if not for continual pulling and mowing, green headed (aka cutleaf) coneflowers would have replaced the lawn years ago. A few of the tall sunflowers manage to get over 10-feet tall; the cup plant is 20+ years old and is staked with 10-foot pieces of rebar.

Example 3: Grandpa Morgan's Garden
Cottage-style garden with multiple ponds bursting with colors, water, fairy gardens, fish, and playful garden art sited on a unique and original Oak Park homestead house built in the 1920s. 

Example 4: Woodside Memorial Gardens
The front yard is my fledgling woodland, featuring 400 native Michigan plant species and a rain garden. In the backyard, there is a circle garden and a sidelot garden featuring all native Michigan meadow plants and bushes. However, our schedule this summer has not enabled us to weed all of our beds, and we ask visitors to overlook untidiness. A small 'Asian-inspired' garden can be found in the back yard behind a 7 year old willow tree. We also have an American Elm in our backyard!

Example 5: Norse Prairie Homestead
Norse Prairie Homestead is in its third season of a permaculture-focused pollinator-priority garden make-over. This previously-typical suburban yard has been reeimagined into a kitchen garden, food forest, and prairie meadow. This garden features over 1550 native flowers, grasses, sedges, and ferns,  21 dwarf fruit trees, vegetables in raised beds, berry bushes, 25 native  shrubs, a butterfly-shaped rain garden, a pollinator prairie, a woodland understory, a shade savanna, & 5 rain barrels.
*
How many years have you been gardening in this location / how old are your gardens? *
This offers context, especially for beginners. A thirty-year garden looks and feels different than a three-year garden.
What categories, styles, genres, or features does your garden include? Please select any/all that apply. This will allow visitors to sort for key features of interest amongst all gardens. *
Required
What size is your garden? Estimate the square footage of all of the garden spaces - not including turf grass - on your property.  *
Take a rough guess at size, a ballpark estimate is fine
Would you like to be considered for membership on the Oak Park Garden Tour Committee? Potential roles/responsibilities include overall planning, distributing flyers and signs, staffing local events to promote attendance, garden host coordination, resource fair coordination, promotions, communications, and social media, organizational partner liaising, day-of contact, placemaking support, arts and crafts, children's activities, etc. *
Are you open to hosting a Resource Fair partner table and ambassador at your garden? New for 2025 will be a resource fair with organizations such as Detroit Bird Alliance, Oakland County Parks, Michigan DNR - Stepping Stones, Oakland Conservation District, Friends of the Rouge, RainSmart Rebates, Oak Park Library, etc. plus some aligned small business vendors dispersed amongst garden sites. They will have a table with information, interactive demos, activities, or wares, and be staffed by an organizational ambassador. General hospitality and access to water and a restroom are required for hosting. Sites with Resource Fair tables/orgs will be noted in the listing on the website and the map. *
Do you have any awards, certifications, or registrations you want to highlight? E.g. Certified Wildlife Habitat, Certified Rain Garden, Beautification Award winner, Certified Bee Friendly Garden, Certified Master Gardener, etc.
Suggested Donation: To keep this event free and open to the public, we charge no admission. While not required, if you are able, we ask that garden hosts consider making a contribution of $25 or more to cover the costs of:
  1. Yard Signs (for every garden host and organizational partner)
  2. Postcards and flyers (distributed in the community)
  3. Print Advertising (in the Oak Park City Magazine and Recreation Guide)
  4. Digital Advertising (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
  5. Graphic Design (website, logos, etc.)

Checks can be made out to Andrew Berg with Oak Park Garden Tour in the memo line and sent/delivered to:
24200 Seneca St, Oak Park, MI 48237
Anything else you would like to share?
Please share anything relevant you want the organizers to know that hasn't been covered yet.
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