Annual garden tour Sunday
Coeur d’Alene Garden Club tour chairman Bonnie Warwick says she holds the reins when referring to the organization of the 10th annual Garden Tour.
“I hold the reins, but I hold them very gently,” said Warwick.
Under her gentle leadership the garden tour has become a phenomenal success, with club members providing the necessary support.
Warwick was positive the garden club could make the garden tour more successful and in 1997 convinced other club members to take over the event. Previously, it had been organized by the Kootenai County Master Gardeners and the Coeur d’Alene Cultural Center, but they chose to discontinue sponsorship.
This year’s event, “Sunday in the Gardens,” is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It includes seven gardens from Strahorn just off Lancaster and Highway 95 north to just behind City Hall next to Tubbs Hill in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 on the day of the tour. A map that shows the location of each garden is available wherever tickets are sold.
According to Warwick, the garden club disbursed about $46,000 to worthy community charities and scholarships last year, and the tour will raise a “significant amount of money” this year.
Proceeds will fund two North Idaho College scholarships – an art department student scholarship and a horticulture student scholarship.
Other charities receiving moneys include the Kootenai Humane Society, The Women’s Center, and Children’s Village, with others being added to list after the event proceeds are counted.
Warwick said each garden will also have live music and local area artisans. Visitors can find everything from garden art, live plants, ornamental concrete garden items, bird houses and feeders, willow furniture, gourds, flower baskets, recycled glass flowers, and steppingstones.
“For the first time we will feature smaller gardens located in the garden district midtown corridor,” said Warwick.
There are many interesting stories behind the gardens. For instance, one of the gardens is located in a newer development and was originally a cow pasture and dairy farm. Flowering shrubs and annuals in the periphery beds provide color and interest, as do the 30-plus trees planted at the fence line to combat winds and provide privacy.
A garden pond and waterfall were installed with a drainage system underground to remove seasonal standing water and to make the garden more enjoyable, said Warwick.
“Abundant use of trees and flowers planted in bright pots and eclectic statuary, artfully placed, takes advantage of every nook and cranny of this small but inspirational garden.”
Also for the first time, there is an official fine art poster donated by artist Stephen Shortridge, owner of the Painters Chair Gallery in Coeur d’Alene. Copies of the poster, “My Backyard,” sell for $25 including tax, and are available at two of the garden stops on the tour, as well as the Painters Chair and Frame of Mind Galleries.
“The garden tour is self-guided so people can travel at their leisure, and the homeowners will be available to answer questions,” says Warwick.
Children must be supervised, and strollers and pets are not allowed.
“This has truly been a labor of love for me, and it is a beautiful way to spend Sunday in the gardens,” Warwick said.