MARION — From hardy vegetable beds to fabulous floral arrangements, the Secret Gardens of Marion tour offered a glimpse into a horticulturist’s heaven on the South Coast.

Eleven homeowners across Marion opened their private gardens to nearly 400 tour attendees on Friday, June 20.

Lisa Larkin, a member of the Marion Garden Group, stated that “we really feel fortunate for people who have been able to prepare their properties for people to see.”

“They’re wonderful seaside and village gardens, and they’ve been curated specifically for this climate and location,” she said.

In addition to private gardens, organizations like the Marion Art Center displayed custom flower arrangements based off of the paintings of Peter Stone and the Marion Institute’s sustainable farming program, Frog Foot Farm, opened their doors for mocktails.

One of the first stops listed along the self-guided tour was located at 23 Water Street.

Known as “Wide Windows,” the home is nestled against the waterfront and has two garden areas settled along their driveway and courtyard.

The white snapdragons bloomed tall and healthy in the cutting garden, seemingly greeting attendees as they entered the space.

The property’s gardener, Jessica Cook, stood by the flower display in the backyard where she described the plants, including cosmos, zinnias and nasturtiums, to tour attendees.

“These were installed about a month ago, so they’re still kind of getting settled in but everything has enjoyed all the extra rain we’ve had lately and the cutting garden is just coming into bloom,” she said.

Her personal favorite garden area on the property is the newly added vegetable garden.

“I love the vegetable garden. The flowers are really fun too but the vegetable garden is still fairly new,” said Cook.

At 24 West Drive, gardener Sarah Santos stood inside an enclosed family garden known as “Kane Fields” where she described the displays of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Rows of vegetable beds were filled with neatly planted green beans, tomatoes and hollyhock.

Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries grow ripe in the rich soil, where they will eventually be harvested and used to make jams and preserves.

In Kane Fields, one can also find bees buzzing in their pollination corner, which helps the plants grow and allows the family to harvest fresh honey.

“We just try to cover a little bit of everything,” said Santos.

George Morton, a Marion resident, said it’s his first time on the secret gardens tour.

“I wanted to see what my neighbors are doing and maybe pick up a few gardening tips,” he said.

Proceeds from the secret gardens tour go toward the Marion Garden Group, which focuses on beautification in Marion.

“It benefits the garden group which does all of the plantings around town, window boxes, the gardens up on Route Six,” said Sarah Mitchell, President of the Marion Garden Group.

Larkin adds, “We’re just really thankful we got a beautiful day, and people have been really supportive. We’ve sold nearly 400 tickets and [that] really makes a difference to us and to the town when people come out and support these events.”