The sound of flowing water floats through the air at the home of Lorelle Demont and Cal Loomis, beckoning visitors into their backyard.
A mature tree towers over the hot tub and dining table, shading them from the afternoon sun. To the west is a greenhouse providing a head start for Helena’s brief growing period. Along the back fence, towering sunflowers undulate in the slight breeze.
Theirs is one of six chosen this year to be on the Secret Garden Tour, which is a fundraiser for the Original Governor’s Mansion Restoration Society. Participants bought tickets for the tour but didn’t learn what gardens were featured until they picked up a map on Sunday.
“This is the 10th year we’ve done this — we did miss one year, so it actually goes back 11 years,” said Sandy Matule, one of the event’s organizers. “The Legislature hasn’t ever funded restoration projects inside the mansion, and there’s always something that needs to be done, so this is a good fundraiser for us.”
Barb Benish and Linda Lindberg have been attending the tours for years. They note that they always come away with new ideas for their own gardens, even if they’re not as sprawling as some of those on the tour.
“We come together as friends every year because both of our mothers were gardeners,” Benish said. “I have a small garden and she doesn’t have much of one, but we love it.”
Stephanie Morrison also isn’t much of a gardener, but she paid homage to the Secret Garden Tour, clad in attire that was a throwback to a more refined, elegant era of formal garden parties — a red dress with white polka dots and bouncy crinoline skirt, topped off with a wide-brimmed hat.
“I’m not a gardener at all, but I love seeing what people do with their spaces. It’s a lot of fun,” Morrison said. “It’s fun to see the artistry existing in all of them, not just in the plants and flowers, but in the landscaping.”
Demont is thrilled to show her garden to the scores of people on the tour. She notes that when they purchased the home in 2006, her goal was to get it listed on the tour. But she had a lot of work to do first.
“When we got here, it was covered in weeds and was kind of a dumping ground,” she said. “We started by the fence, reclaiming the veggie garden to grow tomatoes and whatnot. Now we have spinach, radishes, lettuce, beets and peas.”
They tore out the noxious weeds, like knapweed, thistle and field bindweed, noting that weeding has served as a “no-gym-required workout.” They also “de-rocked” a south-facing spot to create additional gardening space, and used the stones to create borders around the raised beds.
They planted spruce and pear trees, and just last week put some corn in the ground. Today, hummingbirds and butterflies flit around the various food sources and nesting sites. Yarrow, cilantro, dill and parsley wave in the wind.
“I tried to grow brussels sprouts for Cal over there,” Demont says, pointing toward one garden spot. “But the bunnies exploded in the neighborhood this year, and guess what? They really love brussels sprouts.”
She notes that she typically comes out every morning around 5 a.m. when the birds are singing and the day’s heat hasn’t set in yet, to dig in the earth.
“No one is mowing the lawn yet, and it’s nice and peaceful,” she said.
And yet while the property continues to be a work in progress, she suspects that once the tour concludes this year she’ll take a bit of a break.
“It’s a lot of work, but after this is done, I’ll relax and enjoy it,” she said. “I have a date with a book next week.”
Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com Follow Eve on Twitter @IR_EveByron
Speak Your Mind