MARYSVILLE, Ohio - Seven Union County gardens will be highlighted on the Ohio State University Extension Union County Master Gardeners fifth annual Union County Tour of Gardens.
The event will be held on July 15 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature colonial gardens, perennial gardens, native and invasive plants, landscape ponds, vermicomposting, and beekeeping. The tour will also include skin cancer screenings and raffle and door prizes. Master gardeners and garden homeowners will be on hand at each location to answer questions, and each garden will feature a demonstration and/or live entertainment. The tour will be held regardless of the weather.
The following gardens will be featured on the tour:
Linda and Phil Shandle, 14458 Fladt Road: transformed their rural farm fields into extensive perennial and vegetable gardens surrounding an 1840s milkshed that was purchased at an auction and moved to the property.
Robert and Cynthia Robinson, 12587 Adams Road: started beekeeping on their farm in 1994. Visitors will see 20 colonies of honeybees and the vegetable and fruit gardens that surround them. A demonstration on beekeeping will be presented as well as honey recipes.
Becky Rowe, 21914 Westlake Lee Road: has created a garden from scratch in just three years. Her focus is on keeping things natural. She has been challenged by a swampy area behind the house that now has a gazebo surrounded by a profusion of perennials.
Paul and Jackie Lazenby, 22725 Pelomar Lane: created a colonial period garden using a lot of broadleaf evergreens and perennials. Their garden and a five-acre stocked lake accent a colonial period home that Paul Lazenby constructed in a new gated community named Reflections.
Dover Farms, 13302 U.S. Rt. 36: is a small nursery managed by Lynn Emler and Lynn Murphy, who will share a wealth of knowledge about prairie and woodland plants that are native to Ohio.
Marysville's McCloud Park: located at the corner of West 5th and West 4th Streets, which is now in phase two of the renovation of its perennial and shrub beds, is the showcase garden for the Master Gardeners of Union County, who have provided landscape design, construction and maintenance. WOSU radio host Tom Wiebell and GreenScene members will be at McCloud to answer horticulture questions and offer games and prizes.
The OSU Union County Extension office will host visitors for free dermascan screenings to check for the risk of skin cancer. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the newly constructed Legacy Garden planned and constructed by master gardeners using perennials divided and donated from their own gardens.
Tickets are $5 each and may be purchased in advance at the Union County Extension Office, 246 West 5th Street, Marysville, or from any Union County master gardener. On the day of the tour, tickets may be purchased at the Union County Extension office or at any other featured garden on the tour. Ticket sales benefit master gardener horticultural projects in Union County. For more information, contact Laura McConnell, master gardener coordinator, OSU Union County Extension, (937) 644-8117 or (800) 589-8584, or visit the website at http://mastergardener.osu.edu/union.