Tour of Gardens 2026
An Entire Neighborhood on display
Royal Troon Neighborhood - Showcasing the beauty of small space gardening
Your 2-Day Pass covers ALL the gardens for one person. Visit at your leisure on this 1/4 mile walking tour.
Gardens are staffed by Anderson County Master Gardeners and other volunteers are there to answer your questions.
Tickets are $15. Children are free with paying adult. No pet allowed, except service animals.
OPEN HOURS: Friday, June 19 from 4 to 6 pm & Saturday, June 20 from 10 am to 4 pm.
PARKING: at 87 Rolling Links Blvd and on Rolling Links Blvd.
ACCESSIBILITY: Handicapped permit parking is available within the gates of Royal Troon. Gardens are flat.
PHOTOS: By Cricket Love Photography
14 Royal Troon - Southern
Robert & Debbie Southern have lived in their home for 6 years. Their design goal for their garden have been to establish outdoor seating areas and privacy. Three years ago, the Southerns purchased a "greenspace" owned by the Rivers Run Villas Owners Association, which they have developed into a beautiful garden and adds more delight to their outdoor space.
While their greatest challenge of this garden has been the post construction challenges of having good soil and drainage issues, the Southerns’ favorite part of their garden is the grouping of crape myrtles near the central patio, as these add a "room within a room" concept to the garden.
Be sure to admire the most interesting part of their garden, which is an area of red plants bordered by green shrubs near their private driveway.
Today, the ambiance of the gardens encourages active use by friends and family and provides a little more privacy for the Southerns.
30 Royal Troon Circle - Hunter
Bruce and Debbie Hunter moved into their new house on Royal Troon Circle one year ago. Willow Ridge Nursery of Oak Ridge assisted in the design and installation of all landscaping on the property.
The Hunters’ goal for their yard and gardens was to incorporate a relaxing outdoor atmosphere for their home. The Hunters enjoy that they can visibly greet their neighbors with an open line of sight from their back patio, but still have a sense of privacy at the same time.
While their greatest challenge has been with trees taking root and the continual issue of grass encroachment into the mulched areas, the Hunters’ favorite part of their garden is the addition of butterfly bushes to their landscape and the large amount of activity in the yard due to these bushes. Be sure to check out all the butterfly and hummingbird activity at their garden.
Their water features add the sounds of running water and its distance from the street itself allows for the family to enjoy the wildlife from the rear hillside.
Best tip: “Make sure that good soil has been provided…If clay is the base, then a thin topping of soil will involve lots of above ground drainage. Be sure there is no standing water. Also, a black mulch has been essential in avoiding a dry lawn.”
59 Royal Troon Circle - Davis
Jana Davis and her husband bought their property in 1999 and began designing their garden with a serene sense of peace to hide the close homes being built around them. That goal transformed into creating the neighborhood park after their purchase of the adjacent lot in 2015. They designed their garden themselves, then hired Landscape Outfitters by Jeremy to develop it.
Jana says, “My husband has a green thumb and loved creating beautiful healthy plants, shrubs, and trees, with a serene sense of peace in order to settle down at the end of a long day. We wanted enough enjoyment for neighbors to join us when they would take walks in the evening. We have the rock fountains for the calm waterfall feeling and beauty to surround us. In the front yard, my husband designed and included a small creek bank, because he knew how much I enjoyed the creek rocks in the Smokies! Our garden is and has been a serenity space in our home and neighborhood.”
If you come towards the evening, be sure to look and listen for the frogs jumping around the small creek bank.
Best tip: Use of “Lawn Doctor and Rainscapes to help keep the lawn and plants at their maximum lifecycle beauty.”
69 Royal Troon Circle - Iwanski
After purchasing their home in 2009, and with assistance from their friend, Pat, and Payne Nursery in Athens, Myron & Kari Iwanski designed their garden to create a semiprivate seating area for visiting with friends and neighbors, while also welcoming a variety of plants and birds.
While the most challenging aspect of their garden is weeding, they find joy in sitting around the fire pit alone or with friends and watching the bird that visit their property.
Best tip: “Start with lots of good, well-drained soil. Berms offer both.”
73 Royal Troon Circle - Duncan
With help from Landscape Architect, Gary Menendez, Steve & Amy Duncan wanted to create a space of peacefulness that welcomed visitors to enjoy outside areas of calmness, utilizing both plant material and hardscaping that exist in harmony.
Although their greatest pleasure is watching their granddaughter play in the lawn, they find joy in planting and watching their garden grow.
While their greatest challenge is the back area that still needs screening, their favorite part of their garden is their front porch and the Serviceberry trees, which produce sweet blue-black berries by summer.
Best tip: Have “creativity and patience.”
86 Royal Troon Circle - Verner
Designing her garden mostly herself, Sue Verner sought out to bring color to the yard and finds working in the garden the most joyful.
Best tip: “Deadheading”
88 Royal Troon Circle - Watson
When the Watsons moved to their home in 2010, they want to add more color to the “white garden” left from the previous homeowner. Mark and Jenna, who are both Anderson County Master Gardeners, began designing and laying out their garden themselves, sourcing both wildflowers and other domestic flowers from across the country, with a goal to have something blooming year round.
Some unique aspects of their garden include a large Nacogdoches rose, which is yellow naturally, brought from the Antique Texas Rose Emporium, a business that finds older unidentified plantings in various cemeteries and public places around Texas. Jenna is proud of her $2.50 hibiscus picked up on the closeout rack. Although they won't be seen on this tour, they have preserved about 100 daffodils in the spring from the original site of the AMSE museum.
Their garden brings unique favorites to both of them—Mark likes the challenge of roses and Jenna likes the naturalized roses and bearded iris. Be on the look out on the west end of the front garden for a patch of indigo, which has a nice blue flower when fully grown.
While “perhaps the greatest challenge in our gardens is the identification of sunshine spots which impact the types of flowers we can plant,” Mark says they “see gardening is a peaceful, quiet, never-ending activity. We have many walkers in the neighborhood and we take pride in sharing our garden with them. As one walker said, ‘I always enjoy passing by your house on my walks and seeing what is in bloom today.’ That is the reward of gardening.”
Best tip: “As a newer house in Oak Ridge, (30 years), soil is absolutely the most important aspect of growing our garden…The soil tests have helped us to determine what is possible in turf and flower beds.”
