Sunday’s Garden Walk has 50 Gardens, 5 Music Performances

Just like most of the area plants and flowers, the Northcenter Neighborhood Garden Walk just keeps growing and growing.

Now in its seventh year, the annual event snagged upwards of 40 different gardeners last year, but this year, organizers rounded up 54. That’s excluding five different musical talents performing along the way.

Hundreds of neighbors are expected to show up to Sunday’s event. Running from noon to 5 p.m., the Garden Walk tours residents through area gardens featuring beautiful flowers, occasional artwork and live music.

Organized by the Northcenter Neighborhood Association, the event kicks off at Bell Elementary School at 3707 N. Oakley Ave. That’s where garden enthusiasts can pick up their map of the neighborhood outlining where the action is, including which yards are “bee friendly.”

“The really cool thing on the map, that I think is unique, is it identifies who has bee hives, who in the neighborhood has native plants, or even who has a national wildlife certified property,” NNA Vice President Marnie Schwartz told Patch in February.

The map also shows a multitude of other things, like which gardens organic, wildlife habitat friendly and even which gardens use rain barrels.

Lastly, the organization’s Parkways Corner Initiative is featured on the map. The program places a focus on turning a plain corner into an eco-friendly, low-maintenance landscape featuring native plants.