Liz Twan
Special to the Tribune/Advisor
This past Saturday, July 7 the Williams Lake Garden Club hosted a ‘Garden & Arts Tour’ in the lakecity.
A $10 ticket (all proceeds to KidSport) allowed you entrance to nine very different gardens (one public, eight private) generously on display for viewing by the host-gardeners.
The weather was, for the most part co-operative; the umbrellas came out on occasion but it didn’t seem to deter any of the ticket-holders. Avid gardeners are out working in their yards in all types of weather. Weeds wait for no one!
The love of planting and nurturing was apparent at every venue, all the gardens were spectacular in their own fashion. At the Memory Garden many hands have created a practical, meaningful tribute for all to see.
As people wandered the multiple pathways through different garden spots, it was interesting to hear a common thread running throughout the conversation.
“Look at that, I never would have thought to do that. What a good idea.”
Were they speaking of the hand with the martini glass sticking up out of the garden pond; the work boots planted as a tribute to firefighters or the conch shell full of succulents (hens and chicks)?
At each stop the Garden Club had hosts on hand to greet you; providing information on the best viewing route for the garden, special plants or collections to look out for and the ‘please don’t’(s) for that particular venue.
An added bonus at each garden was art or music (both at some places) by the Cariboo Piecemakers Quilt Club (various quilters); Cement Stepping Stones (Pat Radolla), Rosetta Paxton, Old Time Fiddlers, Cariboo Art Society, LeRae Haynes, Al Giddens, Spinners, Weavers & Fibre Artists Guild, Jean Wellburn, Audrey Dye and others.
A few points of interest; a rhubarb patch with stalks so huge that one stalk would likely provide enough rhubarb for a pie and a whole kindergarten class could likely hide, sight unseen beneath the leaves (Todd Gale’s garden). An extremely bountiful vegetable garden, miles ahead of most Cariboo garden patches — already in full production (Dina and Pedro Goncalves).
Marg and Fred Bublitz have a magical backyard retreat full of gnomes, wind chimes, grapes, tomatoes, veggies and calla lilies.
Vegetables and flowering plants thrived in harmony in most of the gardens, a row of carrots planted in a double arc formed a feathery distraction in Kim Herdman and Michael Rawluk’s stunning backyard chock full of hundreds of varieties of flowering plants, succulents and fruit trees and bushes. The front yard (across from Marie Sharpe is but a fraction of what the backyard holds.
A great view of the city sprawled below Joanne Wright’s sloped back garden where artful vegetable plantings caught one’s eye.
While most of these garden hideways were hidden away in backyards, Yolande and Joe Lecomte’s very sloped yard drew the eye with a sweeping blanket of lavender blooms. Massive hanging baskets and window boxes full of orange nasturtiums hung from the porch rafters while tomato plants thrived nearby. A cherry tree in full fruit graced the back yard.
Another hidden backyard oasis was to be found at Erin and Mike Pederson’s Country Club Boulevard location, featuring a large gazebo surrounded by mature plantings on the lower level, nearby stone steps lead to an upper level lawn and more flowers and shrubs on the top level.
The whole event was well-organized and a great experience — a worth-while way to spend four or five weekend hours. Every host was open to questions and offered information freely.
Another frequently overheard comment: “Wow, what a lot of hard work went into this.”
