Published: July 09, 2008 12:08 am            

THINGS TO DO: Three community garden tours set for weekend

Lockport’s In Bloom and the Barker and Wilson garden clubs are hosting peeks at pretty posies, all this weekend.Lockport’s In Bloom and the Barker and Wilson garden clubs are hosting peeks at pretty posies, all this weekend.

Three local garden tours are free and self-guided, using brochures and maps produced by the organizers.

The Barker tour is a first-ever endeavor arranged by Barker Garden Club in observance of the village’s centennial year.

The fourth annual Lockport In Bloom tour is the biggest ever, with stops plotted at 38 different private and public gardens.

The Wilson tour, now in its ninth year, usually is held on the first weekend in July but this time a major holiday prevented that, according to Wilson Garden Club President Jill Rohring. Three garden walks all happening at the same time is “weird,” she said, but an embarrassment of riches that should prove pleasing to gardening enthusiasts.

“People can pick and choose what they want to do,” Rohring said. “Each one has different times; ours is the only one on Friday, so that’s a plus.”

The benefits of garden touring belong to both the visitors and the gardeners, organizers said. Visitors can get ideas and tips about garden design and specimens, and the gardeners can get the praise that they likely deserve for tending to their plots so well.

“Gardening is a labor of love ... and some people are hesitant to show off that labor,” Lockport In Bloom committee co-chair Charlene Bower said. “But people who visit these gardens really are appreciative; they ask questions and they genuinely compliment (the gardeners’) efforts. Hosts who started out feeling nervous end up very gratified by that.”

Ten stops on the Lockport tour are new this year and include private gardens on Harrison Avenue, Wilson Parkway, plus Northledge and Ambleside drives in the town. These are all small streets, off the beaten path, and Bower suggests skipping them would be a loss.

“Sometimes the little streets tend to get overlooked ... (and people) don’t know what they’re missing. There are some delightful gardens, very well worth seeing, well worth the drive,” she said.

Here’s a look at the ins and outs of each tour.



Barker Garden Tour

• When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

• Start with a map/guide at: The village gazebo, Main Street; or pick one up at village hall, the Post Office, Thee Barker Store or the Barker library.

• Tour stops are the homes of:

1. Dan and Sally Baker, 8703 Main St., featuring multiple gardens and a par 3 golf course.

2. Tom and Sherry Poczciwinski, 1879 Pallister Ave., featuring raised-bed gardens and bird accessories.

3. The Andersons, 8675 High St.; 14-year-old Rachael’s garden sports clever use of space and red, white and blue decoration.

4. The Commons, 1889 Quaker Road, where apartment residents collectively have a variety of gardens going.

5. Joann Greenwald, 1705 Quaker Road, variety.

6. Karen and John Davis, 1703 Quaker Road, variety.

7. Maggie Cole, 1702 Quaker Road, variety.

8. Amy Greenwald, 1452 Quaker Road; her Victorian garden has nearly 50 rose varieties plus perennials all enclosed by picket fence.



Wilson Garden Tour

• When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

• Start with a map/guide at: Most local businesses in Wilson, plus the town hall and post office.

• Tour stops are the homes of:

1. Sally Guido, 2804 Maple Road, where gardens are built around a vintage cobblestone house.

2. Jon and Karen Pashong, 4455 E. Lake Road, featuring a pond and waterfall.

3. Joanne and Gary Seefeldt, 91 E. Galewood Drive, where vegetables, edible plants and hops are grown.

4. Mary Clark, 1 Shore Drive, overlooking the harbor.

Park at Roosevelt Beach and walk to the remaining homes; they’re all nearby.

5. Janet and Ken Hoffman, 2363 Riverview Drive, where Twelvemile Creek is the backdrop to a lush, expansive garden.

6. Karen and Gary Greenwald, 3275 W. Lake Road, variety.

7. Aeyna Magdylan and George Mai, 3274 Marville Place, variety with a tilt toward naturals.

8. Kim Farmer and Andy Skavinski, 2339 Washington Ave., featuring lots of hostas and “recycled” garden props.



Lockport In Bloom tour

• When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• Start with a map/guide at: The Kenan Center, Beattie Avenue. Brochures also are available before the tour at local nurseries, Heinrich Chevrolet, Niagara County Federal Credit Union, First Niagara Bank branches and City Hall.

• Featuring: Two gardens on the Kenan grounds; six public gardens kept by volunteer groups; and 30 private gardens. From site to site, look for fountains, wrought iron works, ponds, woodlands, rock gardens, all types of plants and garden design styles and, at several homes, more-than-century old trees.

• Good to know: Organizers recommend following the map start to finish and planning to make a day — or two — of the tour. “It will take people a couple of days to get through it all if that’s their pleasure,” Charlene Bower said.

• New this year: Lockport In Bloom T-shirts and tote bags, emblazoned with a watercolor design by local artist Manning McCandlish, will be sold at the Kenan Center.

        

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