Sponsored by Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers and K-State Research & Extension – Sedgwick County
Calling all gardeners! From the novice to the seasoned gardener, all will find tips and inspiration for their gardens at the Extension Master Gardener Garden Tour on June 2, 3, & 4, 2017. The gardens will be open on Friday and Saturday, June 2nd and 3rd from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and on Sunday, June 5th from Noon- 4:00 p.m.
Seven gardens in the Wichita area have been selected to feature diverse, creative landscapes. Featured will be a formal garden, a hosta haven, a pollinator garden, a vineyard, a garden that adapted to accommodate change, a garden featuring container gardening and lots of annual and perennial flowers. Plants will be labeled and Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will be available at each garden to answer gardening questions.
Advance tickets may be purchased for $10.00 each from Extension Master Gardeners and at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 21st & Ridge Road. Tickets may also be purchased online at sedgwick.ksu.edu . Tickets will be available at the gardens the days of the Tour for $10 each. Proceeds fund Extension Master Gardener Volunteers’ educational outreach programs given throughout Sedgwick County.
For additional ticket information contact the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 316- 660-0100.
Featured Gardens:
A Shady Hosta Haven 127 S. Pinecrest
Everything about this garden is cool…literally and figuratively! Step into the shady back yard on a hot day and you’ll say, Ahhhh. Feast your eyes on a sparkling pond surrounded by ground cover cascading over the bank of lush plantings. Janie Chisholm is a true hostaholic with more than 200 varieties of hostas. Did you know hostas really do better if they have some morning sun? Or to watch them for the easily spread HVX virus? If you want more hosta tips or inspiration for creating your
own little paradise, this is the garden for you. Come in. Be cool!
A Shady Garden of Unusual Whims 1341 N Valleyview
Lush and spectacular, this full, shady retreat is punctuated and brightened by colorful splashes of annuals. In this garden, Extension Master Gardener and retired professional artist, Floanna Crowley, displays annuals she propagates and overwinters. An abundance of unusual plants illustrate that garden selections can be made on a whim and sometimes, plants that shouldn’t grow in Wichita, will. You’ll be sure to learn about determination that defies the norms of Kansas gardens, organization to catalog plants and trees, propagation to keep annuals returning, and an appreciation for the unusual. This is the garden to visit to get your creative juices flowing. Don’t miss it!
Formal Garden with a Soul 55 E. Norfolk; Eastborough
This isn’t your ordinary formal garden. While it has hundreds of boxwoods and a tidy arrangement of formal landscaping, this garden’s soul and friendly atmosphere are embracing. In three years, the Eicherts transformed a mud pit and putting green into four rooms: the Croquet Lawn, the Parterre, the Cote d’ Azure and the Kitchen. Picture a croquet game among whimsical giant rabbit topiaries, stroll through the French-inspired Parterre, or dip your fingers in the pool surrounded by tropicals and arborvitae. The Eicherts don’t distinguish between indoor and outdoor spaces. They live in their garden and you’ll want to, too.
Transition: Adapting to a Changing Garden
948 Porter
What do you do when a 100-year-old silver maple tree comes down, changing your yard from shade to sun? Or when a lingering drought knocks your plants down and electric bill up? This garden has answers. Melody Mynatt’s experience in xeriscaping, hardscaping and her personal motto – find the right plant for the right place – were helpful in renovating her garden, but her positive attitude was invaluable. She views the death of a big tree as bringing new life to her garden – opportunity to stretch her creativity and imagination. Come on in … stretch your creativity and imagine possibilities for your garden.
Vineyards: Napa Valley in the Heartland
21421 W. 37th Street North; Colwich
Did you know that before Prohibition, Kansas was a leading producer of grapes in the US? Vineyards are making a comeback in Kansas and you’ll experience some of Napa Valley right here in Sedgwick County at Prairie Hill Vineyard. Planting his first grapes in 2002, Dan Stockemer presently grows several varietals and he learned, as you will, that proper pruning is key to growing grapes. The grounds, uniquely Kansas, offer more than grapes. The pastoral setting of ponds, a waterfall, rustic cabins, flowering trees and delicate roses will immerse you in a romantic, eclectic blend of country, vines and roses.
Pots, Rocks and Out-of-the-Box Thoughts
8102 Meadow Pass
From training vines to cover a dead, but picturesque, tree trunk, to planting in 50-plus pots to overcome aggressive tree roots, the Ulmer’s garden clearly demonstrates out-of-the-box thinking. Full of design and ingenuity, the Ulmers built a dry creek and retaining wall to combat drainage issues, laid stone pathways, created rock borders, amended clay soil, and laid an hourglass-shaped patio. Geri cleverly re-purposes garden items and artfully prunes trees and shrubs. Packed with design and problem-solving ideas, this is the garden to get you thinking outside your box!
Plants Bring Smiles to Bees, Birds…and Patients Winter Park Dentistry
1445 N. Ridge Road
If bees and birds could smile, they certainly would in this garden filled with meadows, forests and native plants at Winter Park Dentistry. Patients smile, too, as they enjoy the western view from Dr. Winter’s dental chairs. It gives a sense of serenity with crocus and forsythia announcing spring, lantana and swamp milkweed attracting monarchs and hummingbirds all summer, and sumacs displaying fall color. The eastern view demonstrates the use of environmentally-friendly native plants as a haven for pollinators and wildlife and a screen from urban clutter. This garden will surely bring out your brightest smiles!
