National Garden Week, June 6 to12, will be celebrated locally with activities sponsored by Duck Creek Horticulture Society. Proposed events include a children’s activity, a tree planting, a program co-sponsored with Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, a book dedication, and a presentation of a planter to a Habitat for Humanity homeowner.
The June 12 garden tours of local vegetable and flower gardens and an afternoon tea will culminate the activities. Eight local Smyrna gardens are listed for the garden tours, five of which are new to the tour this year.
Jeff and Ginger Flairty’s South Street Victorian home has pots of hanging baskets and a beautiful old iron gate and fence. The garden in the semi-shade side yard is a vegetable garden yielding wonderful results.
Dave and Jaci Hugg’s South Street garden’s focal point is a beautiful back shade garden. An oyster shell walkway leads to a garden of a variety of hostas and a pond. The garden is backed by a beautiful row of crepe myrtle.
Bill and Alice Hill’s South Street garden features gorgeous beds of roses and a new addition of a shade garden. The garden includes a beautiful antique urn planted with flowers, numerous shade plants, and 100-year-old boxwoods.
Jim and Maria Newell’s Commerce Street garden features a grand Italianate house with a wonderful formal garden on the side where brick pathways lead to many beautiful border plantings.
Robert and Jen Merrill’s North Main Street garden is one in transition. A landscape architect has been hired to design a large garden. Presently the garden includes wonderful beds with many native plants, a beautiful swimming pool with landscaped beds around the pool, and a darling playhouse.
Rita Puriefoy’s garden, also on North Main Street, is a delightful private side shade garden with lots of color in hanging baskets of impatiens and begonias. This garden exemplifies wonderful use of small space.
David and Robin Bruner’s South Main Street garden is one of contrasts. After walking in through the iron gates into a lovely courtyard, visitors are greeted with a variety of plantings in pots. In the garden proper is a pond along with hydrangeas and roses. Continuing to the back visitors see more roses, magnolias, and a square foot vegetable garden.
Quentin Schlieder’s South Main Street garden is a formal garden with much statuary, along with plants featuring vibrant colors of yellow, blue and white. The lovely entertaining area features many unusual plants. A special feature is an espalier tree on the back of the shed.
