Secret Garden Tour of the Vieux Carré 2023

Storyboard
Written By Melanie Cole

On May 27 , five French Quarter home owners opened the gates to their lush and lovely hidden courtyards as part of Patio Planters annual Secret Gardens tour.

-photos by Melanie Cole and Ellis Anderson

Patio Planters of the Vieux Carré was established in 1946 as a French Quarter garden club that focused on pass-along-plants. Today, the organization’s mission is the preserve and beautify the French Quarter. Proceeds from the Secret Garden tours help fund another beloved annual event the organization hosts – Caroling in the Square in December. Find out more about Patio Planters and join or donate on their website.

 
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Melanie Cole

Brit by birth, Texan by persuasion, Melanie Cole was lured by the NOLA sirens in 2019. After college she accidentally found herself vagabonding around the globe in an international modeling career. By the 90s she’d ditched the runway heels for a thrift store army parka and torn jeans and began training as a graphic designer in Hamburg, Germany. She spent the following decades designing and developing print retail magazines for major publishing houses there.

Creating layouts that told stories in photos, together with her early years spent in front of a camera, honed her innate ability to capture the essence of a photographic story. She remains passionate about light, color, space, movement, people and their cultures, and visually documenting their stories.

Melanie lives with her two cats and loves to kayak LA/MS backwaters in her free time. Contact her at melanieshootsphotos@gmail.com and follow her at melnaieshootsphotos on Instagram.

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