Garden Club tour another success, five gardens visited

The entrance to the formal English garden at the Irvine home.

The gardens by Mary Ellen were the Hamilton Garden and the Chapman Garden, which are both located in the historic district, and the Walbridge Garden on Shore Lane. They all featured many native plants and included a number of flowering plants. In addition, they all had interesting and unique places to sit and relax among the plantings. All were low maintenance, especially the Walbridge garden on the Gulf, which had artificial turf that was so realistic members had to keep touching it to make sure it was not real grass!  

The other two gardens were located on Loomis and included the Miller Garden at Casa Loomis, which included a playful copper sculpture of six children honoring their first six grandchildren, as well as a large pond and many varieties of flowering shrubs, fruit trees and tropicals. A tea was also held on Loomis at the utterly unique Irvine English Garden with its authentic English gates and wall fixtures.  

This garden included a formal rose garden and an herb garden designed in the shape of the blue and white Scottish St. Andrew’s flag which complements the Scottish lodge design of the home.   

The Co-Chairs of the tour were Lolo Weir, Judi Guy and Becky Nidiffer, who did a great job of selecting the gardens and organizing the more than 200 people who went on the tour in such a way that no garden ever seemed crowded with people, enabling everyone to truly enjoy the unique character and charm of each garden.

Artist members Bobbi Allardyce, Gina Riddiford and Lona Kissinger created the signs marking each of the tour sites. Talented photographer, David Pearah, husband of Vice President Jodie Pearah, did the photography for the four-color brochure that described each garden.