Visitors toured nine gardens around the city May 23rd in the Wyoming Blooms Garden Tour arranged by the Urban Forestry & Beautification Commission.
“What a fun day!” said Commission member and tour organizer Sheri Callaghan. She added that the event succeeded beyond expectations. “There were close to a hundred participants walking, biking, and driving around Wyoming to look at the fabulous gardens!”
The self-guided tour began at the gazebo on the Village Green, where participants purchased a map and descriptions of each garden, written by the gardeners themselves. “The gardens are a reflection of each of the gardeners,” Strangfeld said.
“I love this garden, because it’s okay if I try something and fail here,” said Anne Brack, whose front yard garden incorporates flowers, herbs, and vegetables such as okra, tomatoes, beans, and radishes. “I talk to a lot of people and try a lot of things. It’s a place for me to be me and I pray a lot in it.” Volunteers at each garden helped guide visitors through the tour.
Kate Miller, who learned about the science of horticulture through the Master Gardener Volunteer program, put her skills to work at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center garden, another stop on the tour. “My hope is that over time that garden will provide a place where people in Wyoming can join a community of people who want to garden together and learn about gardening,” she said. The Master Gardener program, run by the Ohio State University Extension, gives intensive training to gardeners who then volunteer their services to create and maintain gardens throughout Hamilton County. The Fine Arts Center is just one of those locations, and the only one in Wyoming. It features plants “that tolerate the hot, sunny exposure and lean soils of the front beds,” Miller said.
While the plants and styles of the individual gardens varied, they shared some common traits. “There are some really wonderful themes that run through these,” Strangfeld said. “Stewardship, gardening for their own enjoyment, and pride in sharing their gardens.”
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Tree Canopy Fund, which buys trees for Stearns Woods and Ritchie Preserve as part of Wyoming’s Green Areas Trust.
