Emporia’s annual garden tour, sponsored by Lyon County Extension Master Gardener volunteers, has been scheduled for Saturday. There are six gardens on this year’s tour; five private and one public garden all of which will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After a hiatus in 2012, area master gardeners have worked diligently to arrange a strong comeback for 2013.

Ben and Jessie Stallings
, 1301 State

When Ben and Jessie Stallings moved to Emporia in 2008, Ben Stallings was looking for a place to practice the permaculture principles he had learned while visiting eco-villages all over the country.  Permaculture is a landscape design system that emphasizes the ecological connection among plants and animals, while producing food and other useful products for people. 

None of the ground has been tilled. Stallings uses a technique called “sheet mulching” to prepare the soil for gardening, using cardboard and large amounts of organic matter, and soil fertility is maintained by top-dressing with compost and mulch.

The garden is dominated by a young pear tree, raspberries, strawberries, and chocolate mint. All these perennials were planted the first year along with annual vegetable crops, and no additional planting has taken place since; the perennials have spread under their own initiative.

The other front garden features a grafted English walnut tree and a variety of plants that tolerate the juglone that walnuts produce. At the front of the yard is an experiment involving two ash trees which were susceptible to pests last year; this year one is surrounded by mulch and beneficial plants while the other remains unprotected.

The side yard features three grape vines and two hardy kiwi vines, along with decorative plants, primarily irises.

In the back yard, a convertible greenhouse grows annual vegetables year-round, primarily greens.  In the winter it is covered in plastic; in the summer its fencing supports peas and pole beans.  The permanent greenhouse frame is not an obstacle since the ground is never tilled. The strawberry pyramid is a work in progress. The raised bed in the backyard is growing asparagus and rhubarb as well as a variety of beneficial herbs and some potatoes that have gone native!

Composting and storage of mulch (last year’s leaves) takes place along the north face of the neighbors’ fence, where little will grow due to the frost shadow.

West of the garage are black raspberries, hazelnuts and sunchokes. Stallings also maintains a tomato garden for a neighbor two doors to the north, along the alley.

John Doreen King
, 824 Rural

John and Doreen King purchased the house at 824 Rural the summer of 1986. Lots of work was needed before their family could move in. It took a few years before attention could be turned to landscaping. Each season a project would be started as time and money was available.

John King built a front porch with flower beds on either side of the steps. The area was in deep shade so landscaping began in large ceramic pots. Container gardens are the backbone of their yard as color may be moved where needed as the seasons change. A French drain on the north side of the yard provides better drainage. Tree removal allowed more sun, and a visitor can enjoy clematis, roses, golden aster, crapemyrtle, iris, yarrow. Knockout roses and variegated liriope. Native stone has been put down for walking paths.

The backyard is very small and has been transformed to an oasis. There are rain barrels, a compost barrel, and four raised vegetable beds. A beautiful raised bed with two 8-foot spiral junipers and flowers is along the garage. A wood deck with awning and a cobblestone patio both provide seating. The oasis has hostas and ferns in a secret garden with a clematis covered arbor, yellow climbing roses on a trellis, jasmine, a butterfly bush, Japanese maples, hibiscus and lots of geraniums. Doreen King has a love of taking cuttings from her hanging baskets so there are many Swedish ivy, sprengeri fern, airplane plants and wandering Jew plants.

The herb garden is well established and the scent of rosemary is a favorite. Both the front and backyard have a large variety of plants both annual and perennial. Nothing is wasted in this yard; if it is standing still there may be a plant in it.

Angela Courtney 
Perry-Smith
, 413 Union

Step back into time as one pulls up to 413 Union Street owned by Angela and Courtney Perry-Smith. The home is 134 years old and contains many of the original features. The yard has always consisted of two lots, which makes the property fairly spacious. A detached garage that was added on to accommodate bigger vehicles and a small stable is on the property, which has the original features and is currently used as a gardening shed.

When the home was purchased in 1996, it had been a rental home for several years and was in need of TLC. The Perry-Smiths love to renovate homes and own a lawn mowing and landscaping business so the home has received an entire makeover, inside and out.

After some major repair work was completed on the inside of the home, work began on the outside. The property has huge oak and maple trees and the front yard has a Bradford pear tree. Narrow beds surround the house utilizing both perennials and annuals. The color and texture of plants continues along the fence. The above-ground pool in the backyard reflects Angela Perry-Smith’s work ethic, as she completed the work by hauling and leveling the sand, chat, and stone. Small flower beds have been added throughout the yard.

In 2010, a patio was added using some of the original sidewalk. A sandbox was added on the south side of the pool. In 2011, flowerbeds were placed on the north side of the house. In 2012, the flower ring and windmill and in 2013 flowerbeds and a eco-friendly garden was added to the side back yard. The Perry-Smiths have filled the beds and containers with roses, geraniums, irises, hostas, petunias and a variety of perennials. All the beds are outlined and contain native stone.

The next project will be to enlarge the garden, using eco-friendly techniques and the beds will continue to grow with flowers of yesterday.

Gary Rita Romine, 
2415 Westview Drive

Gary and Rita Romine moved to this location in 1992. The peonies along the north had never bloomed. They transplanted them and with a little TLC they bloom each year. A pine, globe locust, and two Bradford pear trees are located in the front yard. St. John’s wort and Knockout rose bushes align the front of the house. Several annuals are planted in planters to add color.

In 2004 a room was added on and the following year the courtyard was landscaped with addition of a water feature that is stocked with koi. Fountain grass, a dwarf lilac bush and liriope surrounds the water feature. Accent lights and a moon light in the tree accent the waterfall. Hostas, daylilies, clematis, coneflowers, and annuals align the patio and deck. Birdhouses, rabbit stepping stones and bird feeders decorate the courtyard. Annuals are planted throughout the courtyard to add color. The huge cottonwood tree provides a home for a Balitmore Oriole. Gary Romine built a pergola swing stand. The patio is an area that is quiet with the sounds of a waterfall and birds singing. The flowers and plants add to the serenity of the area. It is a great place for morning coffee.

Last year a dry creek was added along the south fence. Hostas, fountain grass, liriope, and a yard bench with begonias are scattered among the rocks. A butterfly bush, forsythia bushes, Rose of Sharon bushes, a burning bush and a snowball bush provide color during different times in the backyard. Planters with annuals and yard decorations are scattered about the yard.

Gary Romine built two raised garden bed and tends the vegetable garden.

John Gail Weakley, 
616 West St

John and Gail Weakley purchased their home nearly 30 years ago, October of 1984. The yard had been neglected with dead shrubs and grass so the first month was spent tearing out and getting ready for winter. The next spring only a few trees were planted, one being the cedar that is still in the front yard, and new grass. When their middle son was approaching High School graduation the deck and patios were added to the back of the house with flower beds and a privacy fence.

That same year, Gail Weakley had traveled to Tennessee and stayed at a bed and breakfast with a formal English Garden. She fell in love with the look and came home with plans of creating a similar space in their back yard. Bricks from the old Olpe State Bank were retrieved from a field and used to create a path to the water fountain. Lots of hard work gave them the look they were after with the use boxwoods around the water fountain.

In 2007 the Weakley’s had two new grandchildren and Gail Weakley decided she wanted a flower and vegetable garden that the grandchildren could get their hands in and dig. To keep the formal look, boxwoods were planted along one edge and an arbor on the other side. Sitting in this garden, it gives you another perspective of the yard, allowing the grandchildren to plant, weed and take an interest in the ground.

Many friends and family have been generous over the years in sharing their knowledge and plants to the Weakley yard. Gail Weakley enjoys the perennials as well as the annuals for summer color, and different shrubs (crapemyrtle, Rose of Sharon, and burning bush).

The back yard especially has been a place of gatherings with family and friends, so it is fitting to have a pineapple, (meaning hospitality) placed on top of their water fountain.

Master Gardener Demonstration 
Garden

The K-State Research and Extension Master Gardener Demonstration Garden on the Lyon County Fair Grounds was built in 1998 by Master Gardener volunteers with the help of many local businesses. The garden consisted of beds made out of different materials to demonstrate various possibilities for constructing landscape or garden beds. An elevated bed was established to allow accessibility for gardeners with physical impairments.

Like most gardens, this one had its challenges. It was established in a drainage area and consequently stayed very wet. Also, being on the corner of the arena, livestock would occasionally walk through the gardens causing considerable damage. In 2005, Master Gardener volunteers made many improvements to the gardens. A drainage area was created at the back of the gardens, a split rail fence was constructed around the perimeter, and soil was amended.

The gardens now serve as demonstration plots for herbs, Prairie Star and Prairie Bloom flowers and ornamental grasses. Prairie Star annual flowers and Prairie Bloom perennial flowers are ones that have been tested across the state and have proven to perform well in the challenging Kansas climate. Lists of these flowers are available at the Extension office, www.lyon.ksu.edu, or www.prairiestarflowers.com.

Tour proceeds are used for horticulture education events in Lyon County. Tickets are $5 and available from any Master Gardener volunteer, K-State Research and Extension office or can be purchased the day of the tour at all tour sites.

RICHMOND — Stepping out onto Bob and Carol Ann Vickers’ second-floor balcony, the summer breeze plays in and out between stone pillars and into the manicured yard below, picking up the soft floral scents around the garden.

The free-flowing lines of the flower beds planted with vivid perennials, mimic the meandering lines of the grounds’ focal point, a crystal blue in-ground pool.

Then beyond the crisp, crinkled edges of pink crape myrtles, bell-mouthed yellow daylilies, fuchsia rose bushes and wine-hued Japanese maples is a clear view of the Gibson Bay lake.

And that is only one of the homes on this section of the annual Art in the Garden Tour.

Three homeowners in the Gibson Bay golf course community in southwest Richmond will open their private gardens for Saturday’s tour, which pairs alluring landscaping with local art. Seven homes will be featured during the event, organized by the Richmond Area Arts Council.

The homes on Highland Lakes Drive are testaments that it is not the size of the yard that matters, but what is done with it.

The Vickerses, who own one of the 17 homes on the Gibson Bay waterfront, said they enjoy the outdoor space for entertaining.

“It’s really a nice party place. Bob and I like to entertain, so this is a nice place for us,” Carol Ann Vickers said.

The perennials make the garden low- maintenance, and with grandchildren living out of state, the pool and water slide are highlights when they visit, she said.

Lovers of the performing arts, the Vickerses opened their home for the tour to Linda Pack and Pat Banks, the Central Kentucky author and local illustrator, respectively, of the new book Appalachian Toys and Games From A to Z.

Only a few houses away from the Vickerses’ is Dan and Emily Jarosz’s landscaped yard and manicured vegetable garden.

From the square plot of land the green tops of close to 20 vegetables grow out of homemade mulch from the Jaroszes’ compost pile.

“Its amazing out here; most of the winter we will be eating from this little garden,” Emily Jarosz said as her husband pulled up a beet from the garden.

Gardening runs in Emily Jarosz’s family and is an economical way for the couple to eat healthy and enjoy fresh produce.

Tall trees and shrubs around the yard keep the house private as beds of geraniums, peonies and yellow daylilies add color and depth.

Artist Buddy Dobbins and his pottery will be featured in this garden.

Dobbins’ pieces range in style from gourdlike vases glazed in jewel colors to classic baking dishes and bowls.

This is not Dobbins’ first year working with the garden tour; his work has been featured before, and he and his art were requested back this year.

Barbara McGinnis’ home, the tour’s other featured garden in Gibson Bay, incorporates contemporary and folk art.

McGinnis described her garden as having a “Colonial Williamsburg flair” as birdhouses, statuary and decorative pots can be found among the flowers and trees.

“I love decorating, to be honest with you, so I extended it outside,” McGinnis said, standing in front of one of the many birdhouses under the pergola over her back porch.

McGinnis said she had her home professionally landscaped when she moved in, but in the past year she started a rose garden, planted perennials, laurel, pink verbenas and spireas. Five lush green arborvitae shrubs tower over the edge of the garden and provide privacy for the yard.

“I haven’t really cut it back because I like a green, lush look,” McGinnis said.

Featured in McGinnis’ garden is Robby Robertson’s pervious concrete art. Seemingly ordinary slabs of concrete suspended on table legs turn into showers of crystal water droplets when wet.

The unique form of art seems to fit well with the neighborhood, residents say.

“Out here people seem to have their own style,” Jarosz said. “I haven’t seen one house that looks like something I’ve seen; they’re all unique.”

IF YOU GO

Art in the Garden Tour

What: Tour of seven Richmond gardens with local artists and artwork on display in each

When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. June 22

Tickets: $12; available at any of the tour gardens.

Learn more: (859) 624-4242, Artsinrichmond.org

Participating gardens: Dan and Emily Jarosz, 389 Highland Lakes Dr.; Barbara McGinnis, 369 Highland Lakes Dr.; Bob and Carol Ann Vickers, 356 Highland Lakes Dr.; Johnnie and Ronda Allen, 824 W. Main St.; Secret Garden, Hickory Hills, off Goggins Ln.; Gentry and Dinah Deck, 119 Mahogany Dr.; and Gary and Kathy Acker, 90 Foxtown Rd.

Anyssa Roberts: (859) 231-1409. Twitter: @LexGoKy.

With cool temperatures and gentle, penetrating rains at the end of many days, gardeners are as happy as kids in a candy store this year. Even non-gardeners could appreciate the prolonged show of flowering spring trees, shrubs and bulbs.

The 2013 Lisle Woman’s Club Garden Gait Walk will offer a feast for the senses with its selection of six unique gardens on its annual tour.

The self-guided event begins at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 23, at the Museums of Lisle Station Park in downtown Lisle, where vendors will feature garden-themed merchandise. The tickets are $17, or $15 if purchased in advance from any Lisle Woman’s Club member or at a selection of local Lisle businesses. All gardens close at 4 p.m.

The tour also highlights some of the latest trends in gardening while offering answers to “What grows in a shady area?” “How can I incorporate veggies in a flower garden?” and “In what ways can I personalize my garden?”

Luisa and Gerry Buehler

The half-acre yard of Luisa and Gerry Buehler was an empty lot before the family had their modern-style home built 28 years ago.

As a mystery writer, Luisa Buehler weaves clues throughout her garden using the gardening trend to reuse, re-purpose and recycle. There are a number of lovely little spots to sit, write and soak up the fragrances and beauty of nature alongside re-purposed art.

What was once the back of an aged bench is now an interesting support for peonies. The couple turned three former cypress trees near the deck and devoid of greenery into an artistic conversation piece using inverted clay pots on the trio’s branches.

With Luisa’s imagination, quaint wheelbarrows become flower pots, a rusting shovel offers a flower support and an old mailbox adds interest.

Luisa enjoys the perennials her mother passed on to her and incorporates a few vegetables in tubs, which was her father’s forte. She said gardening taught her to acknowledge nature on its terms.

“I just enjoy what comes up and I am appreciative and thankful that God lets me play in my garden,” Luisa Buehler said.

The Buehler garden is a natural environment that inspires endless creativity.

Raymond and Charlene Cebulski

The garden of Raymond and Charlene Cebulski offers a serene oasis behind their home of 35 years. The couple was ahead of the current trend of water gardening.

Their quest for answers brought them to the Midwest Pond and Koi Society, where they both now serve on the organization’s board. Layers of stone surround a large pond that is home to 30 koi fish. The pond’s top tier is the source of two waterfalls.

Around the pond are coneflowers, goatsbeard, cannas, dwarf white cone flowers and perennial petunias. A small shed that Ray built to house the pond’s equipment has the trappings of a charming cottage, complete with flower box.

An eye-catching red rose bush that once belonged to Ray’s mother flourishes near the house. Yard art brought back from their travels and a fairy garden are interesting finds tucked into the many garden beds.

Among the uncommon trees on the ¹⁄₃-acre lot are a linden, peony tree, Australian pine, a weeping redbud, a lime-colored green larch, a small Korean fir pine with white tips and a dwarf white pine with first-year cones in purple. In the vegetable garden, pumpkin and watermelon grow on trellises near fern peony.

Louise and David Goodman

Louise and David Goodman’s garden borders on the Green Trails subdivision’s 26 miles of paved common paths. The couple eliminated their typical front lawn to construct a tranquil arrangement of raised stone beds, pathways and interesting plants anchored by a Japanese maple, Bradford pear and clump river birch. Snapdragons and petunias provide color.

Among the neatly trimmed side yard shrubs, parsley, sage, garlic and chives provide a perennial herb garden.

A large stone patio in the rear yard is trimmed with an array of colorful hanging flower pots. The creative couple fashioned unique tables from original art pieces in leaf shapes. An attention-grabbing Tiki Moai statue affords a touch of island panache standing next to a large-leaf elephant ear plant.

The isle feeling carries over to the yard’s 10 varieties of hostas among a generous splash of colorful annuals. A tiny toad house anchors a fairy garden for interest.

Louise is particularly proud of a hedge of purple and white rose of Sharon hibiscus that she propagated from three of her mother’s shrubs. The newest shoots, she babies along until ready to pass on to neighbors and friends.

Nancy and Tony Heath

In the eight years Nancy and Tony Heath have owned their home, the original grassed front yard was transformed into a welcoming perennial garden path with billowy grasses, patches of white and purple Siberian irises and a variety of jewel-toned peonies.

A variety of roses, coral bells, sweet william, lavender and columbine intermingle along the path. A wooden front deck provides a place to sit and enjoy nature. Bird houses and milkweed invite a variety of birds and butterflies. The yard is a designated Backyard Wildlife Habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation.

The large side yard has beds of pink and purple coneflowers woven into beds of white Shasta daisies and sweet woodruff groundcover. For everyone who has purchased a predesigned perennial border and had it fizzle, the Heaths have a successful combination thriving in their back yard.

The house sits on a bluff looking over the St. Joseph’s Creek that affords an unmatched view of nature with the occasional row of ducklings following a parent.

On the ¹⁄₃-acre site, every season has a plant that commands attention. Following the current trend to incorporate vegetables among flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins are tucked into the front yard near the driveway for easy harvesting.

Carolyn and John Kanthack

Almost an acre in size, the garden of Carolyn and John Kanthack is trimmed with rows of field stone, which dates back to its origins as farmland. The couple expanded the original house 28 years ago.

In the front yard, a small black iron fence once belonged to Carolyn’s great-grandmother. In the rear yard, sedum from a great aunt flourishes. All the hostas in the gardens originated as gifts from family and friends.

Two long rows of privacy fencing line the back yard and become an entertaining gallery of garage sale treasures that Carolyn’s mother finds. Mirrors and birdhouses of all sizes and shapes hang on the fence, sit upon poles or poise on ladder steps.

A large aboveground pool and expanded wood deck fit into the plantings. A small pond, several water features and a hot tub incorporate the garden trend of creating living space outdoors.

A traditional vegetable garden in the sunny side yard produces tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and beans for the family.

In the front yard, a little sitting area trimmed in honeysuckle reuses the remains of the farm’s silo foundation. It’s a relaxing spot to recall yesteryear when a horse and buggy might have pulled up the long drive.

Janna and Rick Sampson

The garden of Janna and Rick Sampson incorporates the trend toward stone drives and patios into its total landscape design. A multi-trunked Amur maple on the corner of their two-car garage diminishes the structure’s size and leads the eye directly to the home’s inviting entrance where potted annuals flourish.

Below the maple, a row of variegated hostas is a lesson in patience. Rick Sampson, who learned that gardeners need to move things around as trees grow and conditions change, said the couple tried several different kinds of hostas below the maple before the present choice began to thrive in the spot.

The couple’s flair for growing plants with different shaped leaves and variegated colors is best seen in their shade garden, where there is a patch of dwarf Solomon seal flowers near several blooming Lenten roses, variegated miniature hostas and an autumn fern dryopteris erythrosora.

Other plants included are yellow flowering corydalis, bleeding heart and a variegated brunnera alkanet.

Yellow-flowered honeysuckle bushes, a dense row of arbor vitae evergreens and Wentworth viburnums shrubs add to the home’s diverse landscape specimens. Georgia peach red-toned coral bells, Jack Frost brunnera and Annabell hydrangea are a study in perennial diversity.