My husband and I have lived in Oak View for closing in on eleven years now. One of the things we’ve loved about this little town-that-could is how strong the sense of community is here, in spite of having no real downtown, being unincorporated and to many people, what you drive through on your way to Ojai.
This weekend, with the Hidden Gardens of Oak View Tour, a new generation of community members have stepped up to again support community — organizing this tour as a fundraiser for the landscaping at the Oak View Park and Resource Center.

Five women, all moms with small kids who live nearby the Resource Center, learned that several years ago the community had done an extensive visioning process about how to bring the OVPARC grounds to life. A nationally recognized sustainable landscaper came from Santa Barbara and coalesced all of the ideas into a really glorious plan, but there hasn’t been any money to get the project going.
They decided to change that! They’ve put together a tour of eight gardens (including, she says with a stage-fright-struck gulp, my husband Mark’s and mine — we’ve been in a “try to achieve worthiness” gardening frenzy for the last month — aiee!), each with something different to offer. While a couple of them are really extensive show gardens, many of them, like ours, are on a normal people scale, rather than a “lifestyles of the rich and famous” scale. Which I think reflects Oak View’s cultural roots beautifully!
If you like gardens and are looking for something to do tomorrow, I’d like to most cordially invite you to come and visit some gardens in Oak View. It’s a self-guided tour, from between 10 am to 5 pm. Stop by the Oak View Park and Resource Center at 555 Mahoney Ave to buy tickets ($12 in advance, $15 tomorrow, with kids under 12 free) and get a map. You can end the tour, if you’d like, at the gardens at the Old Creek Ranch Winery, and enjoy wine tasting at a special discounted price.
If you can’t join us, but are excited about the idea of the landscaping and gardens coming to life at the OVPARC, you can call the office there to find out more about volunteering at 649-4307. But we hope to see you tomorrow!
(The photo is of a rustic gate in one of the gardens on the tour, taken by Erin Labelle, photographer, mom, and Oak View garden tour organizer!)