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bits & pieces A SPRING TRADITION A springtime Macon institution returns in early May. For the 20th year, Hay House is having its annual Macon Gardens and Historic Interiors Tour from May 3-5. The garden tour will feature six private landscapes in the Wesleyan area, including several gardens that have not previously been shown to the public. The garden tour will be Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Sunday, May 5, from 1-5 p.m. The College Street area will be the focus of the historic interiors portion of the tour, along with sites downtown. Five historic houses on College Street will be open for ticketholders, along with two lofts in the core of Macon's downtown. The interiors tour will be held on both Friday and Saturday from 5-8 p.m. Ticket holders are encouraged to make this a night in downtown Macon, staying after the tour for dining and socializing. The always-popular garden market will be on the grounds of Hay House with vendors offering flowering plants, trees, garden and patio accessories, birdhouses and much more. The garden market is open to the public. Market hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Throughout the weekend, there will be several presenters at Hay House on practical points of organic gardening and farm-to-table ideas. This year's keynote lecture features renowned Atlanta landscape designer Ryan Gainey, focusing on his latest book "The Gathered Garden." That's happening Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Peyton Anderson Amphitheatre at Wesleyan College, near the sites of the Saturday garden tours. Tickets for the gardens tour are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the tour. The historic interiors tour is $15. Combination tour tickets are $30 in advance and $35 on the day of the event. Gainey's lecture is available to all ticket holders for $5. The price will be $10 for non-ticket holders. Tickets for Gainey's lecture will only be available through Hay House, but tour tickets can also be purchased at ACE hardware stores in Macon, Warner Robins and Perry, along with Creter's in Ingleside Village and at HayHouse.org. All ticket holders will receive free admission for a tour of Hay House, a National Historic Landmark. Visitors will be able to view the recently restored Green Parlor, returned to the Johnston era from the 1860s. april/MAy 2013macon magazine I 21