THE COASTAL GARDENER:

Hurry. Grab the car keys, a hat and your camera. Time is wasting.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday, the owners of 41 impressive home gardens will open their gates to the public. For only a few precious hours, hundreds — perhaps thousands — of gardeners will criss-cross the county in a frenetic effort to see these inspirational gardens. I haven’t missed a tour in many years, and I won’t miss this one either.

Sixteen years ago, Mary Lou Heard launched her first public tour of local home gardens. Just as the tour remains today, she wanted to showcase “real gardens by real gardeners.” These weren’t gardens created by highly paid landscape designers and installed by small armies of contractors. These were gardens like yours and mine; gardens created from passion; real gardens, as Mary Lou called them.

Mary Lou passed away seven years ago but the tour she began, now a memorial to Mary Lou, lives on, true to her vision.

Twenty-six gardens are open today for all to see, smell and enjoy. Twenty-two are open Sunday. Seven are open both days. The gardens are spread from Long Beach, east to Diamond Bar and south to San Clemente. See one garden or see them all. The mood of the tour is casual and self-directed, so that you can customize it any way you like.

What I especially like about this tour is that there is no pre-registration, no tickets to buy, no secret maps and no pretentious attitudes. Just gardens. Real gardens.

In addition to the excitement of seeing and learning from some of the area’s best gardeners, the tour raises important funds for local charities, specifically the Sheepfold in Orange, the OC Center for Oncology Children and Families, and for horticultural scholarships. A donation bowl will be visible at each garden and as Mary Lou wanted it, “Let your heart dictate what you give.”

If, by now, you’ve got your car keys and camera ready, you’ll first need to go to the official tour website at www.heardsgardentour.com. There, you can print all the garden descriptions, addresses and even the Thomas Guide page and grid numbers.

There are so many gardens to see, it will be hard to decide where to begin, but depending on the day, Bea Grow’s garden in San Clemente might be a good start.

Bea is a treasure and a local horticultural legend and her garden is adequate evidence.

In the Old Towne Orange area, Diane von Gerichten’s garden, set around a Victorian home, will astonish anyone who visits.

A short drive away, I haven’t seen Rosalie Ricci’s garden in almost 12 years but hope to visit it again, filled with arbors, fountains, antiques and loads of flowers.

Marilyn and Jim Cavener’s garden in Huntington Beach was a 2007 winner of the California Friendly Garden Contest and while beautiful, also demonstrates water efficiency, zero runoff and low-impact techniques. Farther up the road, but a “must-see” is the garden of Dr. Phillip Harris. His garden is an over-the-top fantasy land of plants and whimsy. The garden is a winner of many awards and has even been featured on Huell Howser’s “California Gold” TV show.

After leaving Cerritos, a loop through Long Beach to see Michael Esparza’s creation would be suggested. Michael works nights and spends most days working in his garden, doing everything himself, the epitome of a real garden by a real gardener. I’m not sure if he ever sleeps.

On the return trip you may want to swing by Patty and Manny Fernandez’ famous Seal Beach garden. Its intricate design and execution has created a romantic mood, complete with an antique bed, climbing roses and superb detail. Not to be missed.

Whichever of the 41 gardens you visit during the Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour you won’t be disappointed.

Grab the keys. Let’s go. Time is ticking.

ASK RON

Question: I recently bought a hummingbird feeder. How do I make my own nectar to go in the feeder?

Brooke

Newport Coast

Answer: It’s simple. Add one part regular white table sugar to four parts water in a saucepan. Never use honey, raw sugar or brown sugar. While stirring, bring the mixture to a full boil to dissolve the sugar, then turn the heat off and allow the mixture to return to room temperature. Red food coloring is not needed and not recommended. It is important to keep the nectar fresh at all times and to wash the feeder frequently between feedings. With some experimentation, the water-to-sugar proportion may be able to be adjusted to as little as 5 to 1, or even 6 to 1.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@rogersgardens.com, or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar