The 18th Annual Home Garden Tour

This past Saturday, July 21st, our 18th Annual Home Garden Tour was in full swing with thankfully overcast skies and temperatures in the upper 80 degrees F. The forecast was for more sun and a high near 95 degrees F. We had close to 400 attendees for the event which included our wonderful volunteers that helped facilitate the day. I heard nothing but positive comments with the exception of some travel problems related to construction and our map. We are always learning how to improve this event and will continue to do our best to create a quality event. A big THANK YOU to our seven garden homeowners (Schulz', Bendlin's, Schuh's, Skinner's, Agard's, Babcock's and Miller's) that have spent months keeping up with watering and offered their beautiful settings for this vital RBG fundraiser. See just some of the highlights below! I took about 500 photos on Saturday! I'm on vacation this week but will sneak in a couple blogs if my wife doesn't catch me. As I type (literally), she just asked if I'm working again!

The photos below (including the top photo) are from the garden of Dave & Barb Bendlin. Their yard was striking from the front curbline to the back fence and it was amazing how much they had packed in their yard. The water feature was impressive as was the garden shed. There was no shortage of color and interest throughout the yard and their "hands on" role was apparent. And all the rocks! Awesome. Below are some shots from the home and garden of Tom & Sue Skinner. This property was simply beautiful with this historic home, outbuildings and plenty of plants! I was most impressed with the use of well-designed containers and various planters for color and noted some very rare annuals that offered lots of interest as well. There were also many pieces of art and that personal touch wherever I turned. I took many photos in this garden!
Below are some images from the garden of Matt & Konya Schuh. Set along the Rock River, this property included some colorful plantings, containers and some neat outdoor spaces for entertaining. The grass in the second photo down is the 'Jade Princess' ornamental millet (Pennisetum glaucum). I thought the outdoor fireplace was pretty cool too.
Below are some shots from the beautiful garden of Doug & Mary Agard. The Agard's were on the Home Garden Tour many years ago and I was just as impressed this time as I was back then (even more so actually). The woodland setting was accented with many plantings, water features and an expanse of turf that I'm sure was challenging to keep green this year. The Agard's personal touch could be seen throughout their landscape. Below are three shots of the expansive garden and nursery of Jeff & Penny Miller. The nursery, Land of the Giants Hosta Farm, carries an amazing amount of hosta varieties and attendees could tour the nursery as well as the garden. I loved the water feature and wide range of color around the property. Jeff & Penny did a nice job keeping up with watering over such a huge area. Below are some images from the garden of Dave and Milly Babcock. I had been to their garden years ago (beautiful back then of course too) but couldn't believe all the color. The pond and waterfall were neat as were the woodland trails and property punctuated with wood duck houses, bluebird houses and bird feeders. Milly is an expert with perennial combinations and her use of annuals was impressive as well. The garden of Mark & Karen Schulz is below. I enjoyed seeing the woodland perennials, rare shrubs and trees as well as the pond. The woodland approach to the home was really neat as there was so much understory color. I'm sure this garden was a challenge to keep watered this year and I really envied the setting. The third photo down shows the architectural grace of the white culver's root (Veronicastrum). Also note the blue spray-painted ornamental onions (Allium)!This garden had some varieties that I haven't even tried at RBG yet and Mark & Karen gave me a personal tour which I appreciated at the end of an exciting day. Below is most of our Home Garden Tour Committee. We're missing Bill O. and Dave G. in this photo. The back row (left to right) are Tim M., Barb T., Ruth B. and me. The bottom row (left to right) are Janet M., Jean S. (Committee Chair), Patrick G. and Cora O. This group works year round to prepare this event and we'll be viewing/selecting gardens for next year in the coming weeks. Thanks to this group and all the wonderful volunteers (56!) that helped with this event.