Sacred Heart Cultural Center’s annual garden fundraiser sports a new look for 2024.
Instead of a large-scale festival at Sacred Heart plus off-site tours of local gardens, this year’s event will focus on the garden tours, “the part everyone enjoyed the most,” according to Millie Huff, Sacred Heart’s executive director.
Tours of five gardens will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 26 and 27.
“One of the gardens I’m excited about is the Golden Harvest urban farm which is adjacent to the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen. It produces 2,500 pounds of produce per year, feeding hungry people,” said Huff.
There are two historic Summerville on the tour. Both were built in the 1820s — Twin Gables on Milledge Road, which formerly served as the Augusta University president’s home before reverting to private ownership, and Green Court on Cumming Road, which was once the home of Georgia Gov. Charles Jenkins as well as the winter residence of H.P. Crowell, the founder of Quaker Oats.
Jenks Farmer’s “funky little flower farm” in Beech Island, S.C. is another stop on the tour. The farmhouse dates back to the 1750s.
Rounding out the tour is Sacred Heart’s courtyard garden.
“We’re really excited about the line-up,” she said.
Even if people have already toured the ground, Huff said she hopes they’ll come out once again to learn a little of its history.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Sacred Heart parish. Even though the building is no longer used as a Catholic church, it is still a special place to those families whose ancestors founded it, and on April 26, there will be an event (not tied to the garden tour) at the center to honor those families.
The garden event is the center’s major fundraiser, Huff said.
“It was a difficult decision,” said Huff of changing the format. “It was a wonderfully, engaging opportunity to invite the community to Sacred Heart, but it became cost prohibitive.”
Major costs including tent and equipment rental for the vendors and activities at Sacred Heart. But there will still be vendors as part of the event for people to buy their “garden goodies,” said Huff. Vendors will be at each of the stops.
“We’re hand-selecting vendors to match the personality of the gardens,” she said.
Advance tickets are $30; tickets on tour days are $35. They will be available beginning April 1 online here or at Back to Nature,1815 Kissingbower Rd.; Bedford Greenhouses, 1023 Oleander Dr.; Surrey Center Pharmacy, 483 Highland Ave.; Southern Landscaping Garden and Gifts, 4759 Washington Rd. Evans; Wild Birds Unlimited, 3830 Washington Rd., Martinez; Cold Creek Nurseries, 398 Hitchcock Pkwy., Aiken; York Cottage Antiques, 409 Hayne Ave. S.W., Aiken; Grass Roots Garden Center, 111 Holly Meadows Dr., Graniteville, S.C.; High Cotton Downtown, 336 Georgia Ave., Suite 101, North Augusta.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
