Event Dates: April 21, 2012

The annual Hidden Gardens of Three Rivers event is not just another garden tour. Held in April each year, the six featured gardens, which vary each year, all include a constant, yet stunning, backdrop that can only be found in Three Rivers: the Kaweah River and the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Add to this the beautiful springtime setting — where the foothills are colorfully carpeted with dozens of species of wildflowers in peak bloom — and the day is a memorable feast for the senses.

Garden enthusiasts travel from near and far to tour the half-dozen unique gardens unfettered by such things as dog-eared fences or encroaching neighbors. The sprawling properties instead are bordered by cascading waterways while offering unparalleled views of snow-capped High Sierra peaks and a palette of colorful, native wildflowers.

As a handful of Hollywood celebrities make their homes (and gardens) in Three Rivers, garden tour organizers attempt to highlight one of these celebrity properties each spring. In April 2011, attendees enjoyed the natural beauty and riverside setting of William Shatner’s (Star Trek, Boston Legal) exclusive horse ranch while touring his “Native American Spirit Garden” and “Little Grant’s Grove,” a grouping of young giant sequoias named for the actor’s grandson and in acknowledgment of the more well-known Grant Grove of giant sequoias in nearby Kings Canyon National Park. For the 2012 event, the theme is native plants, ensuring that each garden setting is unique to the Sierra foothills region, but the celebrity garden will remain a secret for awhile longer.

Three Rivers is a haven for visual and performing artists, so at each of these distinctive garden settings are additional treats that only Three Rivers can offer.  Local artists create plein-air, area musicians are playing, and community restaurants offer delectable indulgences during “A Taste of Three Rivers,” all of which are included in the ticket price.

And a Three Rivers garden tour would not be complete without the assistance and expertise of the Three Rivers-based, 60-year-old Redbud Garden Club. Club members donate their time as on-site tour guides to make sure not a single leaf is left unturned, bloom left unseen, or vista ignored.

Just as one-of-a-kind as the Hidden Gardens of Three Rivers is the cause it supports each year: Three Rivers Union School. The event is organized by the Three Rivers Union School Foundation, which is committed to supporting the rural kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school and its students, especially during these times of diminishing state and federal funds. TRUS is unique in itself as it offers a quality education in this unincorporated community, serving Three Rivers students since voters approved unification of the district in 1927. The school has proven worthy of support as it consistently ranks as one of the top schools in Tulare County, according to state standardized test results. All proceeds from the garden tour benefit Three Rivers Union School.

Admission Fee (if any): $35

Ages Festival is Appropriate For: All ages welcome