Garden club presents Summer Garden Walk

Homeowners who agreed to present their garden to the public during the 26th Annual Summer Garden Walk, scheduled for Thursday from noon until 8 p.m., took time to view each other's gardens Monday afternoon.

This preview of coming attractions featured the six gardens selected by members of the Friendly Garden Club in Traverse City for the 2008 event. The gardens, which this year are in the Long Lake and Interlochen area, radiated under bright sunshine -- weather organizers hope will be on hand Thursday.

"I get so inspired by looking at everything," said Sue Soderberg, chair of the Garden Walk, who estimates attendance will be around 1,000 visitors, depending on the weather.

The 50-member Friendly Garden Club hosts the walk annually as a fundraiser, which last year netted $5,000-6,000. The money is to create the logo garden at the Open Space, plant at the Senior Center, support the Grand Traverse Area Children's Garden and grant scholarships for gardening classes.

This year's gardens were selected last summer just after the 2007 Garden Walk. Members of the Friendly Garden Club cruised the target area, stopping when a garden caught their eye to ask for a tour and consider extending an invitation.

This year's gardens range from a mature and intricate multi-bed display to a rose garden, one featuring statuary and another boasting a musical theme.

"We've had people who say no," said Soderberg. "The gardens we look at are all beautiful but people have to put a lot more work into them for a walk. I know if I had a garden as beautiful as these ones I'd want to show them off."

Agreeing to be on the Garden Walk does bring some anxiety beyond the flurry of weeding, mulching, deadheading and last-minute projects. Questions come up: Is my garden good enough? What will people think? Can I get everything ready?

With her oldest garden started four years ago and her newest just one week old, Kim Greenman will welcome visitors Thursday with eagerness mixed with a dash of trepidation.

"It takes time, I've got to be patient when I see these other gardens," she said. "It's a work in progress, so you're never done but when you have a passion for it, it becomes a labor of love."

Greenman and her family moved into their Long Lake area home four years ago, the subdivision lot giving her an acre of land to sculpt.

She designated the back of the lot as a large play area for her older son, where he and his friends can play baseball or football without trampling flowers. At the side is a swing set for her younger son, also set apart.

"I feel it's important for the whole family to enjoy the yard," said Greenman, also a drive-by booking from last summer. "I have my passion, which is gardening, but kids are kids so this way I have my flower areas and I don't have to worry."

Partial to color, her mix of ornamental grasses and vibrant blooms, including a mix of annuals and perennials, brighten the shady yard.

"Impatiens are my very favorite," said Greenman. "They're beautiful and they grow in shade, they're pretty easy to grow."

The 26th Annual Summer Garden Walk featuring gardens in the Long Lake and Interlochen area will be held on Thursday, July 17, from noon until 8 p.m. -- rain or shine. Admission is $6 in advance and $8 the day of the walk. Children 16 and under are free. Tickets, which feature addresses of and directions to each garden, are available at the Traverse City Visitor's Center and at area garden stores.

Photos

Bright color and ornamental grasses, perennials, shrubs and annuals all share space in this newer garden by Kim Greenman, which takes the number two slot on the 26th Annual Summer Garden Walk. Special to the Record-Eagle