2026 Outdoor Living and Garden Tour
The Annual Outdoor Living and Garden Tour organized by The Garden Club of LBI on Long Beach Island, NJ, has long been a source of inspiration and style for all who enjoy tending and cultivating a garden.
This year’s Tour takes place Thursday, June 25 from 10 am to 4pm across the island.
Joanne Orlandi, the Garden Tour Chairperson for the event, said there are two reasons why the date for the Tour is usually scheduled for the last Thursday in June.
”The end of June is when the flowers are just about to be in full bloom,” she said. “And we can’t hold it in the summer because of the tourists and the traffic.”
Orlandi said the name for the Annual Outdoor Living Garden Tour reflects just how popular outdoor living has become on the shore.
“People are spending their summers outdoors.” Orlandi said. “So, between gardens and outdoor living spaces we are looking at both elements. We also realized there really aren’t a lot of gardens on LBI, ocean or bay front. They take a beating from the salt air. So that is why we came to emphasize the outdoor living part.”
Gardens on LBI, however, are making a comeback. Orlandi hopes The Garden Club of LBI and the Annual Outdoor Living and Garden Tour are part of the reasons why.
“More and more people are coming down here to live permanently,” she said. “In order to have a garden you must be around to take care of it and tend to it. Every year we have more people on the tour who tend to their own gardens. They take care of it, not a landscaper.”
The Annual Outdoor Living and Garden Tour, like a garden, requires hard work, attention to detail and determination. “A lot of effort goes into a project like this,” Orlandi said. “More than many people realize.”
The hard work is done by ten committees and almost 200 members of The Garden Club of LBI who go out into the community to arrange for the different activities of the Tour.
“It’s all teamwork involving a lot of our members,” Orlandi said. “Public relations, publicity, marketing, promotions, sales, tickets, a graphics committee, a plant sale committee, a VIP ticket team. There are teams to take care of the pollinator gardens. Teams go out to each house on the tour to make sure access to the garden is safe. We don’t want the public tripping on steppingstones. We are very, very conscious of safety. “
Event Co-Chair Michele Farias said members of The Garden Club of LBI work closely with the owners of the homes that are part of the Tour.
“If they want to be present, they can and be as involved as they want with the Tour,” she said. “They are overjoyed to share their gardens with the public and that is so nice to see. They are very proud of their gardens. And we are so grateful because they are helping us with our fundraising. It’s truly a community event.”
On the tour this year are five private gardens as well as two community gardens maintained by The Garden Club of LBI in Barnegat Light, NJ. The tour also includes pop up vendors, plein air artists and the “Petals, Pots, and Treasures” garden market and plant sale in Beach Haven Gardens, NJ.
“It’s a horticultural house tour,’ Orlandi said. “There is no admission inside the homes, but people like to see how the gardens emphasize the house outdoors.
Selecting which houses will participate on the Tour isn’t easy.
“The process to get homes for the Tour is a lengthy one,” Farias said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. Planning for this tour began in November of 2025 with board meetings. Right now, we are looking at houses for 2027 and for the year after that,”
Unique is what The Garden Club of LBI is looking for when they go out scouting for homes. This year they found several.
“It’s amazing today what people want in their back yards,” said Farias. “We have one garden that is a putting green, a cutting garden, a pickle ball court, a basketball court. There are swimming pools, hot tubs and outdoor kitchens.”
Orlandi said some of the gardens are very organic.
“We want our ticket holders to have the whole experience of a garden,” she said. “One house on the tour in Beach Haven is like a forest. You would not believe you are on LBI. At every house we have stationed a master gardener to answer any questions people might have.”
Despite the enormous amount of work that goes on before the event begins, Orlandi said it’s the objectives of the Tour that make the effort worthwhile.
“We want our ticket holders to go home and say this is what I want to do with my garden,” she said. “We feel we have done well if at the end of the day people go home with at least one little piece of inspiration for their own gardens at home. Yes, it’s a lot of work. We do it because we love the club and we love our community.”
And what do the members of The Garden Club of LBI love to do when it’s all over?
“We must clean up,” Orlandi said. “But then we take a deep breath and celebrate at one of our homes. We’re on such a high at the end of the day. It was a great event, but it’s over!”
Until next year. that is.
If you are interested in being considered for next year’s 2027 Annual Outdoor Living and Garden Tour, The Garden Club of LBI encourages you to reach out directly to them at their website. “We are looking for a mix of homes and their gardens,” Orlandi said. “Big and small, ocean and bay side. Some of the prettiest gardens are the ones attached to beach cottages.”
The Outdoor Living and Garden Tour
Thursday, June 25th 10am-4pm
Rain date is Friday, June 26th
Tickets are available online
Tickets can be picked up on the morning of the tour from 9am until 12 noon at:
Spray Beach Chapel
230- N. Beach Ave.
Long Beach Township, NJ 08008
Contact Information
The Garden Club of Long Beach Island
Email: th****************@***il.com
Instagram: @thegardencluboflbi