This tour brings you inside the secret gardens of Fourth Ward

Here’s why. Just blocks from the hustle and bustle of Trade and Tryon Streets, beside high rise condos and townhomes, sits a neighborhood of historic Victorian homes harkening back to the city’s early years. The Fourth Ward neighborhood is an incredible example of urban living at its finest. Often showcased during the holidays with the 39-year-old Holiday Home Tour, the Fourth Ward comes alive every bit as much in the spring.

This weekend, the Friends of Fourth Ward will host the Secret Gardens of Fourth Ward tour. Homeowners on the tour will open their rarely-seen private gardens to the public – revealing the secret green worlds tucked behind courtyard walls.

Here are just 5 reasons to attend this year’s Secret Gardens of the Fourth Ward Tour

(1) History? Yeah, Charlotte still has some.

Throughout this incredible neighborhood you’ll find some of Charlotte’s oldest homes rescued from the wrecking ball in the 1970s and 1980s. Painstakingly renovated, these homes offer the nicest stroll down the streets where you will also run into mid-rise and high-rise condominium buildings. That’s right, the same neighborhood that is home to Charlotte’s history is also home to its largest luxury residential towers, 51 floors high.

(2) Free craft cocktails

You heard right. North Carolina’s very own distilleries are offering locally made Gin (Cardinal), Vodka (Doc Porter’s), and Rum (Muddy River), mixed to perfection, and sampled at various gardens throughout the tour.  Sounds like a bar crawl meets garden tour to me.

(3) Free craft beer too

Rock Bottom Brewery will also be offering free samples of its locally crafted beer throughout the tour.

(4) Free food

Tour goers can use their guidebooks to access free food offers from participating restaurants in the City. The Asbury, Rock Bottom, and Poplar Street Café just to name a few. $1 N.C. oysters will be offered by Sea Level restaurant atop the new SkyHouse park in the sky.

(5) A sneak peak into private walled gardens in the middle of the city.

As though the first four reasons were not enough, gaining access to the private green worlds tucked behind walls in this spectacular neighborhood is sure to please. You will seriously not believe how beautiful and serene these gardens are in the heart of the city. Showcasing the Fourth Ward outdoor living lifestyle, these gardens include features such as outdoor kitchens, fountains and koi ponds, and even a wooden hot tub.

Want to go?

Secret Gardens of Fourth Ward
Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, from noon to 4 p.m. each day.
Tickets ($20), available online at www.fofw.org, or at Park Road Books and Alexander Michael’s Restaurant and Tavern.
All proceeds benefit the Friends of Fourth Ward, a non-profit neighborhood organization.

Cover image via Austin Caine Photography.