It’s been 30 years since the Outdoor Art Club first began putting on garden tours in Mill Valley. To celebrate, its members are throwing a fun and fabulous garden tour on May 15. Tickets are on sale now. The profits benefit the Outdoor Art Club’s charitable community outreach and the preservation of its historic clubhouse. The day will include seven beautiful and historically significant downtown Mill Valley gardens all within a 2-mile round trip of the clubhouse, a fun 38-passenger cable car trolley for transport and an optional champagne “sip and stroll” add-on at the clubhouse with savories, including gluten-free and vegetarian items, and a reusable plastic stemless wine glass to take home as a souvenir. Patrons can walk the tour, take the shuttle one way or both ways, or pedal their own bike. The tour takes two to three hours, excluding the sip and stroll, and will be held rain or shine. After coming across an antique map of Mill Valley during the pandemic and walking every street, Jennifer Murr, the tour’s co-chair with Joyce Vandenberg Porter, was “determined to reimagine” the tour for this milestone year. “This is a truly rare opportunity to visit these private estates,” she said. “There will be surprises in select gardens — a musician playing in an inspired setting, an artist plein air painting, homeowners sharing sips from their family wineries and garden party vignettes.” Tour patrons will start at the Outdoor Art Club to collect their reserved tickets, maps and wristbands. They can sip on wine or beer at the patio bar, listen to live music — courtesy of the Sweetwater Music Hall — sign up for items at a silent auction or pose a question at the “Ask the Arborist” booth. “I think patrons will be most impressed with the grandness of this garden tour,” said Murr, adding that there will “also be a true appreciation for the history of charming Mill Valley.” • “Burlwood” is Mill Valley’s original historic estate. The grand three-story English Tudor mansion, set on 7 acres, was built for Joseph Eastland, president of the North Pacific Coast Railroad and Tamalpais Land & Water Co. He’s considered the founding father of Mill Valley. In fact, Mill Valley was originally called Eastland. Today, the property’s elegant garden still retains its original dry stone wall and staircase, but now features more modern Marin garden elements such as a bocce court and outdoor fireplace. • “Tudor Revival”: This graceful garden with palm trees, boxwoods, ferns, jasmine, a water fountain and dining terrace was built for the son of a previous “Burlwood” owner. A path and secret gate still connect the two properties. • “Architect’s Working Estate”: This turn-of-the-last-century property served as both the home and headquarters for Harvey Klyce, one of Mill Valley’s earliest architects, whose wife, Carrie, was a founding member of the Outdoor Art Club. The garden echoes its past with palm trees, boxwood hedges and a rose bower. • “Meditative Zen Garden”: In the late 1940s, noted landscape architect Samuel Newsom, who helped design Golden Gate Park’s Japanese Tea Garden, bought the barn/workshop behind Kylce’s house and converted it into a family home. The garden still features its original garden design; the property hosts a koi pond, waterlilies, meandering bamboo walkways and a meditation garden. • “Tranquil Redwood Retreat”: A batten-and-board home that embraces the indoor-outdoor living concept was built to complement this property’s prized ring of redwood trees, also known as a “fairy ring.” Here you’ll find an outdoor fireplace with a fountain into the back of the chimney. • “Grand Outdoor Wonderland”: On this large estate property tour, patrons will glimpse rare specimen trees transported from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a mini-vineyard, edible garden, rose-bordered pathways, multiple fountains, a pickleball court and swimming pool. • “Victorian Summerhouse”: In the late 1890s, famed architect Willis Polk — think Filoli, Kezar Stadium, Beach Chalet and St. Francis Yacht Club — designed this shingle-style home for Johanna and Gustav Marcus. The restored garden of this gated estate features laurel topiaries, hydrangeas, maple trees and terraces and walkways of brick and bluestone. Details: Outdoor Art Club’s garden tour is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 15 with timed entries at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and noon. The tour starts at the Outdoor Art Club at 1 West Blithedale Ave. in Mill Valley. The optional champagne sip-and-stroll option requires reservations and will be served at 10 a.m., noon or 2 p.m. A tour ticket costs $100 and includes the trolley ride. A ticket for the tour and the champagne sip-and-stroll event costs $150. For more information, email [email protected] or go to outdoorartclub.org . More: Tips for parking and for bicyclists taking the tour are online. Restrooms will be available at the Outdoor Art Club and at two of the gardens.
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