I'm so glad I made it to the Pullman Garden Walk! Last year at just about nine months pregnant I decided it wasn't the time to make the trek down to the far south side but I always enjoy a visit to Pullman so it was on my calendar as soon as I got the date. Pullman is often pretty overlooked as a neighborhood but they put on some fantastic events and it's always worth checking them out.
This year there were 10 homes on the garden walk. Something interesting is that almost all of the homes had docents at them rather than the homeowner themselves, although at one of the homes the owner was there to answer questions and offered a place to sit. The gardens spanned a five block or so radius, though we weren't able to get to the outliers because we only got there a couple hours before it ended. I liked that they had the docents, who I assume were members of the Historic Pullman Garden Club. Some of the gardens have been cultivated over many years and some were significantly newer. The uniqueness of Pullman architecture allowed for some front yard gardens and some back yard gardens, and some you needed to enter through the alleyway because of the connected homes. There was a rock garden--the entire yard had been pulled up and replaced with stones and raised vegetable garden beds--and there was a garden wherein the owner had placed her own sculptures, at least half a dozen or more. Some of the homes had water or something for folks visiting (very useful since it was a terribly hot day). I would happily visit the Pullman Garden Walk again. read more