FRF - Fondren Renaissance Foundation

Wow! We had a phenomenal 2026 Fondren Bottle Tree Garden Tour. Thank you to all who turned out and supported us. Our garden hosts were so gracious to open their gardens and homes to over 200 visitors. Our artist market on Crane Blvd was a mega-hit!

I met folks from as far away as Hammond, LA and Tupelo, MS who wanted to experience the best of what Fondren has to offer. We can’t wait to do it again in 2027!

Looking forward to seeing the new space!

Tomorrow is the day!

Here are some BTGT FAQs:

1. Is this a walking tour from house to house or do we drive from house to house?

There are four collections of gardens. You will be able to drive to three of them, park in the neighborhood, and walk the collection. The fourth collection are three "destination" gardens that you will need to drive to separately. Everything is in a 2-or-less square mile area.

2. Can you send the map to my email so I can share with my group?

The tour program is much too big to email. You can pick one up in the morning. There will be a table and tent set up on the patio in front of Trustmark.

3. Do we have to start at Trustmark to pick up tickets?

Yes. You will need to stop and pick up your physical ticket. It is a badge on a lanyard much like you see at a golf tournament. It will identify you in the gardens as a paid tour goer.

4. Where else can I get a map from besides Trustmark?

Trustmark will be the only place the tour program can be obtained.

We look forward to having you in Fondren tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our 2026 Bottle Tree Garden Tour. You can purchase your tickets now at https://www.fondrengardentour.com/ . Thank you to Trustmark Bank for presenting our 2026 tour, and thank you to all of our garden hosts for graciously opening their gardens to patrons of the BTGT. Fondren loves all of you!

Our final garden to feature is that of Andrew Young. His garden, Cary Nell's garden, is inspired by his mother. He gardens in her honor and because he inherited the garden gene from her! If you love plants then his garden needs to be on your tour list. He collects all kinds of plants and finds a way to show them off. One of Cary Nell's favorite things was to combine different species of plants in the same pot. He carries on her tradition in his garden too. You will see Hosta, canna, dahlia, rose, daylily, Asiatic lily, maiden hair fern. aucuba, ginger lily, elephant ear varieties galore as well as a collection of sansevieria plants...just to name a few and many more.

We are counting down the days until our 2026 Bottle Tree Garden Tour. You can purchase your tickets now at https://www.fondrengardentour.com/ . Thank you to Trustmark Bank for presenting our 2026 tour, and thank you to all of our garden hosts for graciously opening their gardens to patrons of the BTGT. Fondren loves all of you!

The garden of Ann and Sandy Carter is today's feature. The Carters’ home was designed by A. Hays Town in 1978. The home is a true depiction of Mr. Town’s passion for French, Creole architecture. As the Carters’ family grew, they enlisted the assistance of Ken Tate and later their dear and incredibly talented friend Tim Taylor to add onto Mr. Town’s initial creation. Rick Griffin, a visionary in land and hardscape assisted with the original landscape design 48 years ago. The Carters are honored that he along with Ron Carroll have worked together with Sandy for
the last 30 years. The Carters’ home features various courtyards with antique fountains, vintage artifacts, garden pool, dove cot and an original gazebo. The gardens will inspire those who love shade plants as the house is dense with
tree coverage. As you walk around their home hopefully you will see floral surprises that will bring smiles of an enjoyable experience. The Carters have loved their home both inside and out since 1995.

We are counting down the days until our 2026 Bottle Tree Garden Tour. You can purchase your tickets now at https://www.fondrengardentour.com/ . Thank you to Trustmark Bank for presenting our 2026 tour, and thank you to all of our garden hosts for graciously opening their gardens to patrons of the BTGT. Fondren loves all of you!

The garden of Suzie Cranston is today's feature. The extensive collection of birdhouses will command your first impression but any garden-lover will be drawn in by the cottage garden-style planing on either side of the picket fence. Roses, day lilies, enchinaceas, gaura, camellias, dahlias, cannas, tradescantia and ferns tumble together in a riot of color. The garden was inspired by the death of Suzie's son, Peck, and serves as a celebration on his life. "My yard makes me happy and people stopping by to visit it makes me even happier!", says Suzie.

We are counting down the days until our 2026 Bottle Tree Garden Tour. You can purchase your tickets now at https://www.fondrengardentour.com/ . Thank you to Trustmark Bank for presenting our 2026 tour, and thank you to all of our garden hosts for graciously opening their gardens to patrons of the BTGT. Fondren loves all of you!

The garden of Rebecca and Morris Thompson, our newest garden hosts, is today's feature. A cottage garden where fragrant roses mingle with neatly clipped boxwoods and billowing hydrangeas nod beside lush hostas and stokesias. Tucked among the blooms, charming birdhouses and a graceful birdbath invite feathered friends, filling the air with life and song. In the side yard, a fragrant herb garden thrives in the sun, where rosemary, thyme, basil and mint spill softly over their borders, releasing their perfume with each passing breeze - both beautiful and bountiful, a quiet companion to the more ornamental plantings.

Beyond, in the backyard, a flourishing kitchen garden stretches across neatly tended raised beds, brimming with crisp celery, green onions, Boston cucumbers, okra, straightneck squash, asparagus, tomatoes and lunchbox peppers - each offering a harvest as delightful as the garden itself.

We are counting down the days until our 2026 Bottle Tree Garden Tour. You can purchase your tickets now at https://www.fondrengardentour.com/ . Thank you to Trustmark Bank for presenting our 2026 tour, and thank you to all of our garden hosts for graciously opening their gardens to patrons of the BTGT. Fondren loves all of you!

The garden of Becky and Don Potts, Buttercup's Garden, is our feature today. Buttercup's Garden is funky, full of yard art, miniature plants, a desert driveway and a bountiful variety of coleus, pitcher plants, plectranthus, begonias, bromeliads, succulents, etc. Don grows their veggies which are behind the garden fence since Buttercup thinks that they are yummy also.

The best way to view their yard is to sit for a while wherever you find a seat, after that sit, enjoy the space and look around.

We are counting down the days until our 2026 Bottle Tree Garden Tour. You can purchase your tickets now at https://www.fondrengardentour.com/ . Thank you to Trustmark Bank for presenting our 2026 tour, and thank you to all of our garden hosts for graciously opening their gardens to patrons of the BTGT. Fondren loves all of you!

The garden of Kelly and Thorne Butler, The Butler's Triple Bottle Tree Garden, is our feature today. Since 2014 they have had fun building on the beautiful gardens created by previous owners Jonathan and Gillian Viola. Jonathan built the pool, Gillian landscaped. There really isn’t a ‘theme’ to their gardens, just a happy medley of magnolias, crape myrtles, a crimson bark maple, a fig tree, ligustrum, sasanquas, camellias, pittosporum, boxwood, hosta, asiatic jasmine, confederate jasmine, ivy, fiddlehead fern, bamboo, gardenias, zinnias, three butterfly gardens, tomatoes, rosemary and mint. Their favorite spots are the bed of “Blue My Mind” dwarf morning glories and their back yard in early spring when it becomes a meadow covered with white wild flowers. In April their garden was certified as Wildlife Habitat No. 336,964 by the National Wildlife Federation.