By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Town and Country Garden Club has organized an eight-stop “Gardens in Bloom” tour around Dowagiac for Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine.
This is the second time the club has sponsored a tour. The first took place in 2002.
Tickets cost $10 per person. They will be available on the day of the garden tour and may be purchased at First United Methodist Church, 326 N. Lowe St., from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
For questions or advance ticket purchases, call Jody at 269/782-8178.
Homeowners and garden club members will be available at each stop to address gardening questions.
Refreshments will be available.
All proceeds go into the garden club's treasury to fund community beautification projects, such as its annual garden contest.
Garden 1
This small space holds everything this gardener enjoys. Abundant in the spring with underplantings of daffodils, tulips and other bulbs, this little bit of heaven gives way to hostas, hydrangeas, day lilies, lilies, herbs, vines and trellis after trellis of roses.
What they can't grow on the ground heads upward, to use all the gardening space to its fullest advantage.
Garden 2
Here, antiques and gardening go hand in hand. Added to the hosta, ferns, ornamental grasses and grandma's vintage morning glories, you will find tucked away a primitive painted bench, an old rusted wagon, an ageless toy, rare watering cans and other treasures collected on the gardener's sojourns. Come and explore this charming yard and Crybaby the cat.
Garden 3
Expanding yearly, the latest bed boasts miniature roses, hydrangea, “pink diamond,” buddleia, daisies, bearded iris, peonies, grasses, foxgloves and delphiniums. A patriotic bed is dedicated in honor of her three brothers who served in different branches of the armed forces. This gardener is also a craftsperson who loves to make decorative items to tuck away amongst the greenery, terracotta birdbaths, painted flower pots, plat labels and garden signs and other bits of collected garden whimsy.
Garden 4
Wander the winding paths, leading to hosta, hosta and more host. All in all, 150 different varieties (or more?). After all, shad is not a challenge but a blessing. Foliage colors and textures are just as beautiful as flowers to this gardener and they last much longer. This gardening couple works as a team. She is the dreamer and idea person. He is the realist and builder. Come and see what they have created together.
Garden 5
Don't miss this one. Browse, explore and investigate specimen plantings not seen on every tour. A new waterfall flowing down out of the hillside woods ia new feature just for this tour.
Garden 6
Gardening is her passion. Like many of us, she learned about gardening while working beside her grandmother and mother. Owning 30 acres, mostly wooded, seven acres are cleared. She specializes in growing the unusual as she likes the challenge of seeing what will grow. Explore the “rooms” of herbs, old roses, vegetables and fruit trees. Unusual evergreens, trees and shrubs provide an abundance of cover and housing for birds and wildlife. Featured in the Daily News' July 2005 “Homescapes” section.
Garden 7
Sitting atop a gently sloping knoll, your eyes go from the golf course to the beds and plantings around this home. This gardener grow many of the plants from seed and features annuals and perennials from A to Z. Hummingbirds, orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks and many other flying creatures complete the picture.
Garden 8
This sumptuous, newly-built brick home was professionally landscaped with additions from the owners, who find great peace and relaxation in caring for the many rose bushes and her gloriously potted bursts of color around the pool. The tranquil setting on the stream makes heading home a real treat.