The Secret Garden Tour offers a rare opportunity to step inside some of Murfreesboro’s most beautiful private gardens—hidden gems thoughtfully cultivated and generously shared by local homeowners. Guests are invited to wander, explore, and find inspiration in these intimate outdoor spaces while celebrating the art of gardening and community. Proceeds from the Secret Garden Tour directly support the Discovery Center, helping provide engaging, hands-on learning experiences for children and families throughout our region. The Secret Garden Tour Tickets: $20/person Get Tickets Presented by the Discovery Center in partnership with the Master Gardeners of Rutherford County. Representatives of the Master Gardeners of Rutherford County will be available at each garden to welcome tour participants and answer gardening questions. 2903 Amber Drive Over the past eight years, this master gardener has transformed an open yard with a small fenced area and only a few shrubs into a colorful, joy-filled botanical oasis. Now the space overflows with vibrant perennials, flowering trees and shrubs, and layers of texture that change beautifully with the seasons. Every corner offers a pop of color or a delightful surprise. In recent years, she’s added more native plants, turning the garden into a haven for pollinators. The garden is a tribute to her father, an avid gardener from southern Indiana. Many of his plants—including his beloved dallies—traveled from his Indiana garden to her first garden in Murfreesboro, and now flourish here. Their blooms are living reminders of his spirit and love of gardening. Grown with love, rooted in family, and designed to bring beauty to one small corner of the world, this garden invites you to pause, wander, and leave with a smile. 410 Clubridge Court This small suburban yard has over 100 middle Tennessee native wildflowers, instead of the commonly used plants from Asia and Europe that dominate our suburban landscapes. Since middle Tennessee native plants have coexisted with our native insects, birds, and other middle Tennessee wildlife for thousands of years, they better steward our food web and the wildlife it sustains, such as providing suitable host plants for beneficial insects. We usually select plants as if they were decorations, based on their appearance and what we like, and do not think much about a plant’s wildlife value. To practice environmental stewardship, plant what the middle Tennessee wildlife would tell us to plant! And native plants are beautiful too, many are just not well known. If only the birds, bees, and butterflies could talk. Note: The backyard has honeybees, which are not native to North America. They are like livestock, good for a product, honey. Our unknown, under appreciated, and nonaggressive native bees are much more effective than honeybees for pollination. But not for honey, as native bees hibernate through the winter.
When the Young’s bought their home, the gardens had been neglected. There was overgrown holly and privet. Repair work had killed part of the patio garden. The berm had two scraggly shrubs. Not knowing what would grow here, they hired a landscape company to get them started. With their assistance and advice, things began to grow and improve. Their son removed the privet and overgrown bushes from the driveway entrance and garage wall. Holly bushes were trimmed back so far that they thought they would die. Donna’s husband’s retirement brought a major emphasis and concentrated effort on the gardens. With an introduction to the Rutherford County Farmer’s Market at Lane Agra, plants began to be added almost weekly. A new neighbor began providing advice and plants and sometimes physically assisting their planting. A friend who raises chickens provides a source of natural fertilizer. Mulch is delivered to the driveway and not 3 trips in the van to lug home 60 bags of mulch from Lowes. A new shade garden has sprung up where the squirrel cafe killed the grass. A gate with an arch joins their back yards and provides a support for wisteria and trumpet flower. Hydrangeas are everywhere; the berm is constantly changing with a variety of plants; raised beds provide vegetables to share with neighbors and potted plants crowd the back porch; novelty items add whimsy and additional interest. The empty flower beds of the front yard have day lily in summer and mums in the fall. Cat mint, phlox, hosta, coneflower and canna are making their presence known. Their garden is a work in progress continually changing.
827 Banner Drive
In the heart of Middle Tennessee, nestled in Rutherford County, lies the welcoming city of Murfreesboro. Just a short way from the hustle and bustle, in the Regenwood neighborhood, along the graying tarmac of Banner Drive, lives a kind-hearted woman named Pheang and her good-natured but occasionally grumpy husband, Terry. Their cheerful yellow house rests amidst a lively garden filled with vibrant, colorful flowers and greenery that brighten the landscape. Each day, Pheang tends to her plants with genuine care—preening the blooms, pruning for healthy growth, and nurturing the soil to encourage new life. Passersby are often met with her friendly smile and a warm wish: “Have a wonderful day!”
819 Banner Drive
Sheila Balch’s lifelong passion for plants took root in childhood, surrounded by a family of avid gardeners and landscape professionals. Her father, J.B. Proctor, served as greens superintendent and club pro in the early days of Stones River Country Club. For decades, her mother, Nancy, and brother Jayme tended a beautifully varied garden at their Grigg Avenue home. While a student and employee at MTSU, Jayme was recognized for decorating the campus with incredible, artistically manicured, shrub and flower beds. For thirty-two years, Sheila has cultivated her own private oasis in the shaded, narrow backyard of her Regenwood home. Three old farm fence rows, with more than 25 mature trees, enclose the small lot and create a secluded haven. Within this space, she has planted more than 100 hostas and a wide array of perennials, including ferns, hellebores, astilbe, grasses, heuchera, hydrangeas, crepe myrtle, Boston ivy, wild ginger, lily of the valley, iris, daffodils, and more. Each spring she adds more bursts of color with impatiens, coleus, caladiums, and other annuals. Sheila’s garden is accented with stone pathways, concrete planters, vintage iron fence, stained glass, and a collection of birdhouses. Sheila’s own artwork – cast concrete leaves and mosaics – adds a personal touch. Wind chimes and a fountain provide a gentle soundtrack. Sheila and husband John Balch hope you will enjoy their secret garden.
2627 Lancaster Court
Amy and Josef Muftic have spent the last seven years turning a mostly blank canvas into the shade garden paradise and entertainer’s dream they have today. Amy brings professional expertise to their garden having previously worked on farms outside of Chicago and Boston, as well as at the Chicago Botanic Garden as an assistant horticulturist. Their space has a focus on sustainability and animal habitats with a rain chain, rain barrel, compost system, bird habitats, a bat box, an insect hotel, and raised bed vegetable gardens. The vegetable garden showcases Amy’s agricultural background and includes several unique varieties of tomatoes (the more colors the better!) as well as peppers, squash, beans, and cucumbers. The remaining garden beds are shaded by mature trees and demonstrate how to create a lush, layered landscape using shade-loving perennials such as hostas, ferns, hellebores, hydrangeas, toad lily, boxwoods, and coral bells. A whimsical children’s area includes a playground as well as a fairy tree decorated with ribbons and wind chimes. The hardscape features a large deck with built-in hot tub, a paver patio, and an outdoor fireplace to anchor the entertaining space, creating plenty of room for friends and family to relax and gather. Amy is currently employed as the Farmer Educator for Discovery School and Bradley Academy and encourages Secret Garden visitors to learn more about the Farm to School program with Murfreesboro City Schools.
2543 Choctaw Trace
Tucked behind a home that once overlooked a simple stretch of lawn, Jim Dillon’s garden has grown quite literally from the ground up into a deeply personal retreat shaped by decades of care, creativity, and curiosity. What began in 1987 as an empty backyard took its first transformative turn in 1995,
when Jim hand-dug a koi pond as a way to unwind from the stresses of work. A friend soon joined in to build a Japanese-inspired bridge, setting the tone for a landscape that blends tranquility with intention.
Today, winding pathways invite visitors to slow down and wander, revealing new perspectives at every turn. Whimsy and memory are woven throughout the garden. An old lawn spreader, once belonging to Jim’s father, has been thoughtfully repurposed and is joined by playful birdhouses, metal fish, and delicate dragonfly sculptures. Among the most striking features is a kinetic metal spinner by renowned artist Lyman Whitaker, whose work can be found in museums and zoos across the country. Its graceful movement adds a meditative rhythm to the space.
The plantings reflect both beauty and resilience. Japanese maples lend structure and elegance, while drought-tolerant perennials such as bee balm, coneflower, salvia, and ornamental grasses create a dynamic, low-maintenance tapestry of color and texture. Only a small patch of grass remains, reserved for a beloved pup – Toffee – as Jim has gradually expanded his beds using a sheet mulching method that continues to shape even the front yard.
Jim’s garden is not only a place of beauty, but also a testament to the restorative power of tending the land, one thoughtful layer at a time.
