2019 Tour of Artful Gardens

Last weekend I attended the Tour of Artful Gardens as I do every year. Each year Colleen Tucker and Jennifer Quarterman make it better. I enjoyed this one so much because of all the art. Each garden was different in how they incorporated it with their plants. Whatever they did it worked. Talk about recycling - I saw so many things that most people throw in the trash. However, how they did it showed artistic talent and accented so many of the beautiful flower choices. Below is at least one photo I chose from each. It was very difficult to choose. I also included some from Jeff Best.

1.  We started in Mountainaire at Pat and Joe Policastro. This hillside garden featured a huge planter with a stand of aspens, a lovely outdoor living area, and loads of garden art. Below is my favorite piece incorporated into their water feature.

2.  The 2nd garden in Mountainaire was at Alice Hill's home. This cottage style garden has hilly meandering paths that wind through many types of pollinating flowers, and inviting outdoor seating area, and loads of garden art. The garden was teeming in pollinators. She included several pollinator hotels. One of the pictures I am including is a hotel sitting on some logs which are also great for pollinator habitat.

Photo by Jeff Best

               
3.  Our 3rd stop was in Kachina Village at Lorrie & Frank Bain's. Completely designed and built by the homeowners, this garden features many Malpais rock borders that surround beds of native plant, herbs, vegetables, raspberries, with lots of annual and perennial color. They had many hens and chicks and had several on sale for those who were interested in growing them.

 4.  The 4th stop we made was our 1st in Flagstaff at the home of Kathy Crowfoot. This colorful Western themed garden is a combination of large containers interspersed with fountains and interesting found art. It received the Flagstaff Xeriscape Award in 2008.

Photo by Jeff Best

After a lovely lunch at Little America's restaurant with a beautiful view of their gardens we started again.

5.  The gardens of Martha and Judy O'dea were first on our afternoon list. This small but intimate backyard has multiple flower beds of varying heights, cozy seating areas, and a cascading waterfall they call the Salmon Run. Their dog and cat were both present to greet everyone.

6.  The last garden was a shady sanctuary garden that has pops of color provided by a mixture of shade loving perennials accent plants, highlighted by whimsical glass and metal. It is the home of Jeanne and Eddie Baker.

Photo by Jeff Best

Enjoy and think about entering your garden next year. This was a fundraiser and the proceeds will help fund our grants for next year. In the spring a call will go out for non-profits interested in receiving grants for gardens with educational purposes. Watch the blog. Sorry if you missed the tours this year. It is a great tour for ideas for incorporating art and plant combinations that work at high elevations.