Tour shows how to fit in and stand out

781-659-2559; www.ssnsc.org

The imaginatively plotted and carefully worked landscapes on the annual South Shore Natural Science Center’s summer garden tour are object lessons on how to take advantage of your environment.

The tour’s seven gardens range from a cottage garden in front of an antique farmhouse to a boulder-strewn expanse over the sea in Cohasset or a stonewall border in a shady lane.

“They’re all very suitable for the property people find themselves in,’’ said Martha Twigg, the center’s director.

The Tibbetts family’s property nestled in a quiet spot off Cove Creek in Marshfield, for example, provides a natural backdrop for a koi pond and grotto waterfall in a garden ornamented with shade and aquatic plants. Steve Tibbetts, who has designed waterfall displays for the Boston Flower & Garden Show, is “a waterfall artist,’’ Twigg said. “His gardens are magnificent, in tune with the environment he is working in.’’

One of the region’s oldest summer garden tours, the natural science center’s tour celebrates the contributions of private gardens to the beauty of the South Shore. “They enrich our lives with birdsong, flowers, shade, and homegrown fruits and vegetables,’’ the center’s garden tour committee states.

Dorothy Gullicksen of Hanover began creating her garden at age 65. She assembled the stone walls for the borders by hand and tucked in plants in various places with a strong eye for color and texture.

Gullicksen built her gardens entirely out of materials at hand, carrying home loads of compost from the town recycling center for garden soil in her compact car.

Now 86, Gullicksen says “everything she has came home in her Corolla,’’ according to Twigg. “She says, ‘I haven’t spent a dime.’ Everything was picked up along the way. She’s one hot ticket.’’

Situated on a rocky outcropping of Minot’s Ledge in Cohasset with sweeping views of Little Harbor, the garden built by Cathy and Sal Lanuto is entered by a footbridge above boulders and a goldfish pond fed by a small waterfall.

“We were inspired with the proximity to the ocean and the multilevels that the property had to offer,’’ Cathy Lanuto said.

The couple planted beach roses and ornamental grasses, along with trees, bushes, and perennials that begin flowering in spring and pass the torch to others, assuring garden interest throughout the year. “I like a garden that moves from season to season,’’ Lanuto said.