Upcoming Events
Through Your Neighbor's Gate Garden Tour
Saturday, June 6, 2026
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Join us for the 2026 Through Your Neighbor's Gate Garden Tour. Explore six unique gardens throughout the River Valley including the award-winning The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing. Enjoy a relaxed self-guided tour filled with colorful plants, creative spaces, and ideas you can take home and try in your own garden.
Gardens may be toured in any order.
1507 S. 16th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901
2016 S. L Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901
906 S. 26th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901
7000 S. Q Street, Fort Smith, AR 72903
8905 Gracie Lane, Fort Smith, AR 72916
7300 Gardener Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72916
See below for garden descriptions.
Tickets are $20 per person. Children 12 and under are FREE. Purchase online or at the first garden you visit.
Proceeds support the gardens and educational programs at The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing.
1507 S. 16th Street
This vibrant garden blends beauty and productivity, combining raised vegetable beds with a mix of annuals and perennials, providing continuous color, texture, and seasonal interest throughout the garden. Tomatoes, basil, marigolds, and cucumbers grow alongside lush container arrangements, hydrangeas suited for both sun and shade, and an impressive collection of climbing roses.
Water features, a small greenhouse, and a self-watering wicking tub irrigation system add both beauty and practicality throughout the space.
This true “oasis in the city” showcases creativity and thoughtful planning at every turn, leaving visitors inspired with ideas for their own outdoor spaces.
2016 S. L Street
This delightful hidden gem in the historic Park Hill neighborhood surrounds a 100-year-old home filled with character and charm.
Front porch ferns and gentle windchimes welcome visitors into a peaceful garden featuring 21 Japanese maples, including Crimson Queen, Fireglow, Green Cascade, and Emerald Lace. Hydrangeas and hostas add soft color and texture throughout, enhancing the garden’s tranquil, shade-friendly design.
With its harmonious blend of structure, color, and peaceful ambiance, this garden offers a quiet retreat and a delightful discovery for tour visitors.
906 S. 26th Street
This thoughtfully designed garden showcases the beauty of shade-loving plants alongside innovative vegetable-growing techniques.
Shaded by a beautiful Eastern redbud, the garden combines lush ferns and hostas with creative approaches to growing vegetables. A unique trellis system supports thornless blackberries and climbing crops, while no-till methods and shade cloth help tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs, and more thrive during the Arkansas summer heat.
Blending beauty and practicality, this touch of “urban sophistication” is full of clever ideas and easy inspiration for home gardeners.
7000 South Q Street
This peaceful garden blends memories of an Arkansas country childhood with touches of English and French charm. Over the past 14 years, it has grown from a small patio into a welcoming retreat filled with perennials. Many are cherished pass-along plants, including irises, daylilies, daisies and Lenten roses, that carry memories of friends and shared gardens.
Function and beauty work hand-in-hand throughout the landscape. Herbs including thyme, chives, rosemary, lavender, basil, and mint, are grown for tea and cooking. Berries provide food for birds, and zinnias, lantana, echinacea, and salvia attract butterflies and bees. Groundcovers, such as liriope, ivy, mondo grass, creeping jenny, ajuga and sedums, serve as living mulch.
Filled with warmth, whimsy, and lived-in charm, this garden offers a relaxing and inviting space to gather and enjoy nature.
8905 Gracie Lane
This welcoming garden reflects a love of practical gardening, sustainability, and the tradition of sharing plants with others. A treasured collection of pass-along plants fills the landscape with personal history and seasonal beauty, creating a garden that feels both established and inviting.
Raised vegetable beds, enriched with compost added directly into the soil, provide a productive growing space for a variety of edible plants. A practical kitchen herb garden features fragrant favorites including fennel, milkweed, dill, patio tomatoes, rosemary, chives, bee balm, and tarragon, blending usefulness with pollinator-friendly appeal.
Creative problem-solving is also on display through a unique shade system designed to protect vulnerable oak trees from sun scald. Throughout the garden, thoughtful planning and hands-on care demonstrate how beauty and functionality can work together in harmony.
7300 Gardener Avenue
The Learning Fields is a collection of educational demonstration gardens designed to inspire and inform. Guests are welcome to enjoy the scenery and explore the gardens at their own pace.
The tour begins just outside the front gate and leads visitors into the fenced garden area, where 27 additional garden spaces and projects await discovery. Along the way are vibrant vegetables, a spiral feature with medicinal herbs inspired by European design, colorful quilt-inspired plantings, roses, a greenhouse, pollinator-friendly spaces, and a peaceful memorial garden.
The tour continues past the beehives into a landscape filled with native plants well-adapted to the local climate. Visitors may also spot bluebird boxes supporting local wildlife and enjoy a whimsical area decorated with hand-painted rocks and seasonal creativity.
Additional highlights include a labyrinth, children’s garden, cutting flowers, berry
patches, composting area, and a cheerful sunflower-themed gathering garden. Toward the back of the property, guests will discover a keyhole garden, vertical-growing gourds, pumpkin patch, edible landscape garden, an award-winning fig trial, and an emerging wildflower meadow.
Photography enthusiasts will enjoy a scenic setting with countless opportunities for memorable photos, from casual snapshots to professional images. Throughout the space, visitors will discover colorful blooms, creative garden features, and charming details that provide beautiful backdrops at every turn.
At any point during the visit, guests are welcome to relax at the pavilion and soak in the beauty of the gardens. Visitors may also browse the merchandise booth featuring baked goods, t-shirts, garden items, plants, and other unique finds.
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June 2026