Five private gardens to be featured on Geneva Garden Walk
Gardening enthusiasts will want to carve out some time this Friday and Saturday, June 16-17, for the Geneva Garden Club's biennial garden walk.
This year's theme is "A Garden Variety - Geneva Gardens in Bloom." The walk takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and features five private and three public gardens, as well as a guest speaker, boutique and plant sale.
Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 the day of the walk. Advance tickets are sold online and at Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Ace Hardware, Cocoon, California Pizza Kitchen, Heinz Brothers and The Little Traveler. For details, visit www.genevagardenclub.com.
The Daily Herald caught up with Julie Brown, publicity chairwoman, to learn more about the walk.
Q. How do you choose the gardens to be featured on the walk, and what goes into planning the walk?
Julie Brown. Planning a garden walk takes many months of planning and organization. We reach out to our members and fellow gardeners for potential homes to be featured on a walk. We look for homes that will offer enjoyment, ideas and perhaps a "wow factor." We look for different styles and locations throughout Geneva. It takes the entire club, 80-plus members, to plan and organize all the details. Each home/garden has a committee.
Q. What are some of the highlights visitors will see on this year's walk?
Brown. This year the gardens offer ponds, fairy gardens, beekeeping, memory gardens, native perennials and a wide variety of trees. This year there are four residential homes, two in Mill Creek and two in town along with Arden Courts Memory Care facility and three public gardens, Geneva Garden Park and River Park.
Q. Tell us about Roy Diblik, this year's guest speaker.
Brown. Our guest speaker will be Roy Diblik of Northwind Perennial Farm in Burlington, Wisconsin. He will appear from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the City Hall gardens which he designed. Roy is a recognized perennial plant expert with over 35 years of knowledge growing native perennials. He is the author of "The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden."
Q. What will funds raised go to support?
Brown. With the funds raised we are able to support scholarships, tree replanting, Geneva Beautification, Living Well Cancer Resource Center and CASA Memory garden, Geneva History Museum, and we help maintain the Geneva Garden Park along the river and the Knuckle at State Street and Third Street.
Q. Anything else readers should know about the walk?
Brown. We will be featuring a boutique/French market and plant sale at the Kellar Square residence in Mill Creek. The home at 1775 Allen Drive will have the "will call" for tickets purchased ahead of time.