COUNTRY GARDEN TOUR
LESSONS LEARNED
These are some notes from previous years.
1. A note on sponsors:
It has been suggested that, for many reasons,we switch from an display-ad sales model to a multi-tier sponsor model, involving only the printing of company logos instead of display ads for full, half- and quarter-page ads. This will require significant changes in our skill set, and perhaps a workshop to help members be successful under the new ground rules: sponsors will need to be approached in the off-tour year (2017-2018 season) before other community fundraisers get commitments that compete with our efforts. As mentioned, we may benefit from a workshop in how to approach sponsors, decide what the ask should be, and a bit of training in how to make the ask. Most of our members are not naturally comfortable in these roles. Some are, and they can be valuable resources. The Sponsorship committee may need to include 5 or 6 members in addition to the chair. The tour coordinators should help involve the entire club's
resources (and their contact lists) in making a successful transition to this model. See Sponsorship Team below.
2. Garden Tour 2015: Note on Art in Our Gardens
The 2015 tour featured sculpture and other garden art created by local artists, this required a separate coordinator to work with the artists. If this feature is employed again, Tour chairs should check with 2015 organizers.
3. Garden Tour 2017
The 2017 tour featured 6 gardens, some more elaborate than others. On the days of the tour there were 64 garden hosts plus 8 ticket takers for a total of 72 slots. Of that number, about half were Garden Club members and half were not. Volunteers who are
not members of the Garden Tour receive a free ticket for their efforts; garden club volunteers receive a reduced-price ticket. It should be noted that members of the Garden Club frequently take on more than one role. In recent tours, for example, one member served as a host for two slots; another served as a host and then a ticket taker; others did publicity or advertising sales and then hosted in a garden; others combined being a garden manager with hosting in that garden; a co-chair was also garden manager; another member served as treasurer and a garden manager. Garden Club members also worked on publicity and advertising sales, provided the artwork for the
Tour Booklet, posters, and tickets; or wrote the garden descriptions.
4. Other special or supplemental features
The 2017 tour included a tool-sharpening service staffed by the very generous woodworker husband of a volunteer, who provided excellently restored tools to local attendees -- mostly members -- for a donated fee. There are also a few commercial services that can be contracted in advance. Logistics should be planned in advance, so they can be part of event publicity. The past two tours have featured garden reading lists prepared for Gleason library, who pulled books on the list and other selections into a display -- perhaps augmented by a bowl of peonies!
5. Interactivities
Many garden owners are willing to chat with visitors, which is a real value-add. If a garden has a particularly scenic vista, a plein-air painter can be added to the ambiance, as can a musician in a gazebo or summer porch. Visitors can be invited to write comments or garden-inspired poems.
6. Garden Tour 2023
Some are duplicates from above document
Advertising
1. Timeline for advertising – social media, Mosquito, other town newspapers, flyers/postcards
2. Postcards? Are they the best use of advertising dollars and manpower?
3. If we do use postcards, we must add a QR code
4. Opportunity – Advertise a Mother’s Day Gift of Garden Tour tickets on social media and Mosquito!
5. Register the Plant Sale AND Garden Tour with GCFM
6. Post Garden Tour and Plant Sale on the Town of Carlisle website and CITW (City in the Woods) yahoo group
7. Start advertising earlier – website, Mosquito, social media, and continue with advertising through the Tour days
8. Post Tour information on Town of Carlisle website, CITW, with QR code
9. Post positive reviews from past Garden Tour visitors to promote GT 2025 (we have several examples from past Tours)
Garden Tour Gardens and Owners
1. Parking, signs, cones
2. Garden Owners meet and greet before the Tour dates
3. Provide a sign-in book in which visitors can leave comments for the owners
4. Complementary Tour tickets to Garden Owners
Ticketing
1. State very clearly on website and social media that this event is being held in Carlisle MASSACHUSETTS (we had several people in Carlisle, PA buy GT tickets and plants)
2. Make the no refund policy very clear and state it in several places – on the website, ticket ordering, online store, in the booklet, advertising, social media etc.
3. Develop a better way to ensure that visitors who paid online have their names on the pickup list.
4. Provide ticket table with lists of paid visitors and complementary ticket recipients
5. Make sure Tour-goers know where to pick up their tickets – include a map, picture of FRS and address of FRS to direct them. Post this information on the Club website and online store
Day-of Logistics
1. Combine Ticket and Plant Sales under one canopy
Volunteers
1. Hold several zoom “training” meetings for ALL volunteers
3. Garden Managers should be in contact with their respective volunteers – develop a timeline for emailing (1 month before, 2 weeks before, several days before). Garden Managers should ensure they have responses from all their volunteers.
Rules
1. No dogs allowed (except service dogs) in the gardens – state this on our website, ticket booklets, online store, advertising, social media, etc.
2. Children under 18 years of age are admitted to gardens free (they do not need a booklet)
3. Tickets are non-refundable – state on our website, online store, ticket booklets, social media, advertising, etc.
Ticket Booklet
1. A note on sponsors:
It has been suggested that, for many reasons,we switch from an display-ad sales model to a multi-tier sponsor model, involving only the printing of company logos instead of display ads for full, half- and quarter-page ads. This will require significant changes in our skill set, and perhaps a workshop to help members be successful under the new ground rules: sponsors will need to be approached in the off-tour year (2017-2018 season) before other community fundraisers get commitments that compete with our efforts. As mentioned, we may benefit from a workshop in how to approach sponsors, decide what the ask should be, and a bit of training in how to make the ask. Most of our members are not naturally comfortable in these roles. Some are, and they can be valuable resources. The Sponsorship committee may need to include 5 or 6 members in addition to the chair. The tour coordinators should help involve the entire club's
resources (and their contact lists) in making a successful transition to this model. See Sponsorship Team below.
2. Garden Tour 2015: Note on Art in Our Gardens
The 2015 tour featured sculpture and other garden art created by local artists, this required a separate coordinator to work with the artists. If this feature is employed again, Tour chairs should check with 2015 organizers.
3. Garden Tour 2017
The 2017 tour featured 6 gardens, some more elaborate than others. On the days of the tour there were 64 garden hosts plus 8 ticket takers for a total of 72 slots. Of that number, about half were Garden Club members and half were not. Volunteers who are
not members of the Garden Tour receive a free ticket for their efforts; garden club volunteers receive a reduced-price ticket. It should be noted that members of the Garden Club frequently take on more than one role. In recent tours, for example, one member served as a host for two slots; another served as a host and then a ticket taker; others did publicity or advertising sales and then hosted in a garden; others combined being a garden manager with hosting in that garden; a co-chair was also garden manager; another member served as treasurer and a garden manager. Garden Club members also worked on publicity and advertising sales, provided the artwork for the
Tour Booklet, posters, and tickets; or wrote the garden descriptions.
4. Other special or supplemental features
The 2017 tour included a tool-sharpening service staffed by the very generous woodworker husband of a volunteer, who provided excellently restored tools to local attendees -- mostly members -- for a donated fee. There are also a few commercial services that can be contracted in advance. Logistics should be planned in advance, so they can be part of event publicity. The past two tours have featured garden reading lists prepared for Gleason library, who pulled books on the list and other selections into a display -- perhaps augmented by a bowl of peonies!
5. Interactivities
Many garden owners are willing to chat with visitors, which is a real value-add. If a garden has a particularly scenic vista, a plein-air painter can be added to the ambiance, as can a musician in a gazebo or summer porch. Visitors can be invited to write comments or garden-inspired poems.
6. Garden Tour 2023
Some are duplicates from above document
Advertising
1. Timeline for advertising – social media, Mosquito, other town newspapers, flyers/postcards
2. Postcards? Are they the best use of advertising dollars and manpower?
3. If we do use postcards, we must add a QR code
4. Opportunity – Advertise a Mother’s Day Gift of Garden Tour tickets on social media and Mosquito!
5. Register the Plant Sale AND Garden Tour with GCFM
6. Post Garden Tour and Plant Sale on the Town of Carlisle website and CITW (City in the Woods) yahoo group
7. Start advertising earlier – website, Mosquito, social media, and continue with advertising through the Tour days
8. Post Tour information on Town of Carlisle website, CITW, with QR code
9. Post positive reviews from past Garden Tour visitors to promote GT 2025 (we have several examples from past Tours)
Garden Tour Gardens and Owners
1. Parking, signs, cones
2. Garden Owners meet and greet before the Tour dates
3. Provide a sign-in book in which visitors can leave comments for the owners
4. Complementary Tour tickets to Garden Owners
Ticketing
1. State very clearly on website and social media that this event is being held in Carlisle MASSACHUSETTS (we had several people in Carlisle, PA buy GT tickets and plants)
2. Make the no refund policy very clear and state it in several places – on the website, ticket ordering, online store, in the booklet, advertising, social media etc.
3. Develop a better way to ensure that visitors who paid online have their names on the pickup list.
4. Provide ticket table with lists of paid visitors and complementary ticket recipients
5. Make sure Tour-goers know where to pick up their tickets – include a map, picture of FRS and address of FRS to direct them. Post this information on the Club website and online store
Day-of Logistics
1. Combine Ticket and Plant Sales under one canopy
- Cash boxes (on same table) – one for Plants, one for Tickets
- Fully charged Zettle Credit Card readers for both plant and ticket sales
- Portable battery brick for re-charging cell phones and card readers + cables
Volunteers
1. Hold several zoom “training” meetings for ALL volunteers
- Brief them on what to expect (“dots” on booklets for groups who are sharing)
- Ensure they know which garden they are working and when
- Ensure they know when their shift is at Ticket or Plant Sale
3. Garden Managers should be in contact with their respective volunteers – develop a timeline for emailing (1 month before, 2 weeks before, several days before). Garden Managers should ensure they have responses from all their volunteers.
Rules
1. No dogs allowed (except service dogs) in the gardens – state this on our website, ticket booklets, online store, advertising, social media, etc.
2. Children under 18 years of age are admitted to gardens free (they do not need a booklet)
3. Tickets are non-refundable – state on our website, online store, ticket booklets, social media, advertising, etc.
Ticket Booklet
- Tour booklet on Canva for editing by Website Editors
- If not familiar with Canva, we have a free Garden Club account to use
- Udemy online has Canva classes – offer to Website Editors to pay for them to attend those classes online
- Website editors, or Sponsorship Cmte will be the POC (point of contact) for reaching out to sponsors who have committed to the Tour for their graphics for the booklets
- Sponsor payments will be handled by FinCom or volunteers other than the Sponsorship Cmte (to help relieve the burden on the Sponsorship Cmte)
- Garden Tour write ups should include parking directions – which side of the street to park on, not to park on, etc.
- Display prominently in the booklet that tickets are non-refundable
- State in the booklet that no dogs (except service dogs) are allowed in the gardens
- Sponsorship Cmte can distribute booklets to sponsors in advance of the Tour
- Print booklets in color