The self-guided tour of 10 private gardens in Meadowmont and The Oaks will be held, rain or shine, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The N.C. Botanical Garden, another part of the tour, will offer refreshments and a native plant sale.

The tour showcases a variety of styles and sizes of gardens, including a woodland "rescue garden" that features native plants; a garden that boasts rare broadleaf evergreens; and a pocket-sized garden bursting with flowering plants and shrubs.

Also on the tour are the gardens of the DuBose house at Meadowmont, adjoining a Georgian/Colonial revival home listed on the National Register of Historic Houses.

The DuBose gardens, first laid out in the early 1930s by David St. Pierre and Valinda DuBose (who was a founding member of the Chapel Hill Garden Club), still display many of the original plantings, though they have been restored to their original glory in the last two years. Refreshments will be served at the DuBose house, a display of family memorabilia can be viewed and violin concerts by children from the Suzuki School of Music will be performed.

Two new elements, "Science in the Garden" and a "Gardener's Delight Raffle," have been added to this year's tour.

"Science in the Garden" includes educators and landscape designers who will stroll in the gardens and answer questions. Orange County master gardeners will share tips about water-wise gardening, soil improvement and pest management. Muriel Williman with Orange County Solid Waste Management will demonstrate backyard and indoor composting techniques. Witherspoon Rose Culture will unveil its new "O" method of rose-growing. Members of the North Carolina Native Plant Society will join garden hosts Cheryl and Jeff Prather to discuss preserving our native plant heritage.

The "Gardener's Delight Raffle" featuring 90 prizes worth more than $7,000 will close the festivities Sunday afternoon. Highlights include a Vietri garden planter valued at more than $600; gift certificates from area restaurants and hotels, local nurseries and landscape designers; antique botanical prints; and handcrafted jewelry.

The Chapel Hill Garden Club, now in its 77th year and with more than 100 members, has sponsored a biennial spring garden tour since 1996. Proceeds will principally benefit construction of the N.C. Botanical Garden's new "green" Visitor Education Center. To date, the club has donated $79,000 to the building fund.