NOGS Opens Savannah's Hidden Gardens for One Weekend Only

One of Savannah's most closely guarded secrets becomes briefly public this month. The NOGS Tour of Hidden Gardens — organized by the North of Gaston Street neighborhood association — returns April 17 and 18, granting visitors one of the few chances each year to slip behind the wrought-iron gates of the Historic District's private residential gardens. Most of the gardens are 18th- and 19th-century parterre designs hidden inside historic townhome courtyards that can only be glimpsed from the sidewalk the other 363 days of the year.

Docents from the neighborhood host each garden, share the history of the property, and explain which plants have survived in Savannah's peculiar coastal microclimate for generations. The tour is walkable — all the stops are within a few blocks of each other — and is the single best way for a visitor to see how Savannah's garden culture actually lives behind closed gates.

If you're going: tickets fund NOGS' neighborhood preservation work and sell out a week or two in advance most years. Wear comfortable walking shoes, arrive early for the first stop, and bring a hat — April sun on Jones Street is stronger than it looks.

Sources: Savannah in April, Explore Georgia