After a several year hiatus, the Garden Club of Shawnee will once again host its wildly popular Garden Tour highlighting some of the community’s lushest landscapes.
“Our last tour was in 2019, and with the two-year absence due to Covid, we’ve been delayed, but we kept our heads,” says Sandra King, a member of the club. Now, club members are ready to swing open the garden gates and showcase five spectacular gardens.
Since its establishment in 1990, the club has been committed to helping people and neighborhoods enhance their green spaces, “growing the community one garden at a time,” King says.
This year’s tour features five unique Shawnee gardens that include everything from extended outdoor living areas and bubbling water features to whimsical bridges and extravagant, inventive flower combinations.
The gardens are handpicked after “a small committee reviews recommendations received from members, neighbors and friends, then selects the gardens that reflect the unusual, the unique, the creative use of problem areas and overall beauty,” King says.
Many of the gardeners have been curating their landscapes for more than a decade, experimenting with different plants, flowers and vegetables, and they’re eager to share their knowledge.
GO: The tour is June 10 and tickets are $15. For more information and where to purchase tickets, visit gardenclubofshawnee.org
GARDEN TOUR 2023
⊲The Rossbach garden has been in the works for nearly thirty years. Through trial and error, the Rossbach’s have figured out what grows best in their heavy clay soil and are ready to share the fruits of their labor.
⊲The Thowe garden is the product of two local interior designers who have transformed their small backyard into a living extension of their home. The Thowe’s cozy outdoor living space features a fire pit, a dining table and a raised garden bed. The space is perimetered by a corten steel fence and adorned with a variety of climbing vines and greenery. Potted plants placed throughout give the space texture and visual depth.
⊲Geib’s “Whimsy Waters” garden is straight out of a fairy tale. The charming landscape is dotted with winding paths, bridges, ponds and a bubbling stream. It’s adorned with lots of sun-loving plants such as daisies, lavender and iris. The Geibs originally designed their garden for their children, but they are now sharing their wonderland to inspire others.
⊲The Hostetter garden is home to dozens of different varieties of ferns and hostas and is frequently visited by birds and butterflies. A large water feature with impressive rock work makes for a relaxing space. In the sunnier areas there is a bright butterfly garden and a banana grove.
⊲The Caspari-Epperson’s garden is a fairly shady space, but that has not stopped them from creating a “garden oasis.” A variety of plants and flowers, from bleeding hearts and ferns to lilies and roses, have been used in the landscape, which also includes a bubbling waterfall.
