Garden Tour

Saturday was so busy, I didn't even get time to sit down at my computer and post a blog. Some days are that way and I was happy it was such a nice day to spend outside (a day I will remember fondly once January gets here!)

Neighbor Scott stopped by Saturday afternoon with an ice cream tub full of green beans, a plastic grocery bag full of beets and this beautiful bouquest of gladiola flowers. (I've never had gladiolas in my garden, because I'm too lazy to dig the bulbs up for winter, but I do think they're a very pretty flower.)

I will be spending some time this afternoon cleaning and cutting the beets and beans to prepare them for freezing. Does anyone have any good beet recipes (besides pickles)?

Now, on to the garden tour. The Rochester Flower and Garden Club has this tour every summer on the third Thursday in July. You pay $10 per carload and there are at least 4 garden stops to visit from 4:00-8:30 PM. I've wanted to go for years, but my schedule in previous jobs never worked out. This year my birding friends (and former WBU co-workers) invited me to go with them. I paid for the map and ticket and they did the driving. It was a great time and the tour concludes with an ice cream social.

While I was waiting for my friends to arrive home from work I "sat a spell" in their backyard and admired their gardens (they are both Master Gardeners and have some really nice flower gardens in their yard).

Front Yard

Back Yard

It was an interesting tour. I look at some of these gardens and they just seemed kind of "over the top" for someone like me (the average, somewhat lazy gardener). The most impressive garden belonged to a woman who has spent the last couple years clearing buckthorn out of her wooded lot with a backyard that angles steeply down to a ravine. She's a "hosta enthusiast" and has over 500 varieties in her 0.87 acre lot. (She also does not work outside the home and has a "gardener".....)

She also had gargoyles!

Every one of the gardens had a water feature.

From average.....

To again what I would consider "over-the-top"

There were also some "whimsical" sights:

Willow Heart Trellis (I also took this picture because I'd like to try and make a trellis like this)

Giant acorn hiding behind an oak tree

Little fishing boy about to catch a goldfish

Muskrats peeking out of the lily pond

"Fish on a stick" look like they're actually swimming with the leafy background

Some of the flowers I thought were noteworthy:

Three large, beautiful trumpet vines growing alongside a garage

I've never seen dayliles this lovely orange-gold color (almost like a marigold color)

Anise Hyssop (I couldn't identify the plant, but thought it looked like a cat-mint leaf, so I rubbed a leaf between my fingers and it had a yummy spearmint/licorice scent!)

Fabulous dahlias (again, another plant that requires extra care to survive our harsh zone 4 winters)

Black hollyhocks (I loved this color!)

I know I should have split this post into 2 parts, because it got kind of long, but since I'm already 2 days behind, I decided to put everything in today. Hope you enjoyed the tour. Thanks for coming along.