Elizabeth Home & Garden Tour

Learn about the neighborhood and get ideas for your own space this Saturday and Sunday

The Elizabeth Community Association can't figure out when its home and garden tour started. Members have tracked it back about 40 years, but no one can say for sure.

The annual event takes place this weekend. Five homes, two residential gardens, and the gardens at St. Martin's Episcopal Church and the Charlotte Council of Garden Clubs house will be along the route. The houses vary from an eco-friendly renovation to a cozy bungalow, a townhouse, and a 1930s home that was recently a character's residence for a movie due out next year.

"We shoot for an eclectic mix to be representative of the neighborhood," says Suzanne Henry, communications chair for the tour.

She describes Elizabeth residents as do-it-yourself types. One home on the tour has hand-stenciled walls in the dining room and an inlaid floor in a herringbone pattern—both projects completed by the home owners. A couple of the gardens are home-owner creations as well.

"I would say Elizabeth has a sort of creative and artistic community," Henry says. "They come up with their own vision, and it's their work."

She expects about 1,000 people will participate in the tour this weekend. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 on the days of the tour. (For additional purchasing information, click here.) One ticket covers admission for Saturday (11 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.-5 p.m.). Ten percent of tour proceeds benefit the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and Charlotte Bridge Home, a nonprofit that assists veterans and is based in the Elizabeth neighborhood.

In addition to home and garden ideas, Henry hopes people come away with an appreciation for the fun, vibrant, family-friendly atmosphere in Elizabeth. And maybe they'll return next year and help keep the annual tradition going for 40—or so—years to come.