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The flowers are blooming and the garden gates are opening.

 The Council of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Garden Clubs will host the Parade of Gardens on Sunday, May 3, showcasing four private gardens and 10 gardens at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Garden Center. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a chance for us to educate the public on what good gardens look like,鈥� Beth Herschman, event chair, said. 

She said they have been showing private gardens at least once a year for the last few decades. Usually, the Parade of Gardens is in late spring, however, they changed it up this year. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to do this at a particular time that鈥檚 earlier than usual,鈥� Herschman said. 鈥淪o that we can see flowers and things that we don鈥檛 usually see in our later timeframe.鈥�

After a warm winter, she said, several things will be in bloom earlier than usual, like roses. 

鈥淎 lot of things are blooming early that we weren鈥檛 expecting,鈥� Herschman said, 鈥渁nd then some things are blooming a little too early, so they鈥檙e going to come and go anyway.鈥�

The large cactus garden at the center does not usually bloom fully until Mother鈥檚 Day, but Herschman said she noticed some of it is already blossoming. 

鈥淲e have several regular gardens that are just full of beautiful plants and flowers and great trees,鈥� Herschman said.

Gardens she expects to be in full bloom are the iris, rose and heritage gardens at the center. The private gardens, while unique, all have varying numbers of irises, which are the focus of this year鈥檚 tour. Herschman described one stop as a 鈥渨ild garden.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a field of iris and daylilies,鈥� she said. 

One of the private gardens has a waterfall and pond, while another has 10 different fruit trees. She said it was easy to showcase variety because gardeners all do their own thing. 

鈥淓very gardener has something they just love and they mess around with,鈥� Herschman said.

In addition to seeing all the spring plants, artists will be stationed throughout the tour, which 鈥渆nhances the experience,鈥� she said.

Herschman said she loves the changing of seasons. 

She said garden tours give visitors a 10% snapshot of what blossoms throughout the year, which is why they change the tour date from time to time. 

Not only does the Parade of Gardens offer a different perspective, she said, it鈥檚 different from the garden tours in Plactias and Corrales held later in the summer season. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e really kind of excited about it, because it鈥檚 a chance to see things that you don鈥檛 usually see on our garden tours,鈥� Herschman said. 鈥淥r anybody else鈥檚 for that matter.鈥�

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.