Here in Long Branch, a community tucked into the very southwest corner of the amalgamated Toronto, we have been putting on a huge and fabulous garden tour each June.

Today snow has started, the beginning of what forecasters have promised will be quite a snowstorm. It seems like an odd time to be thinking about gardening, but one thing we’ve learned is a successful garden tour requires careful planning.

There are a lot of things to consider, from funding to speakers, recruiting new gardeners, publicity, website, signs and more. February turns out to be a key time to make decisions. Planning is done by holding a few meetings beginning in the fall. We lay out all the tasks that have to be accomplished and volunteers make it all happen. Tonight we’ll be trundling out in the snow to the home of one of our gardeners to go through a busy agenda and get one step closer to a successful tour.

Everything is decided by consensus at the meetings. It isn’t necessary for participants to take part in the planning, but having a core group of people willing to come out and join in discussions and take on various tasks is what makes it all happen.