Thursday, July 18, 2013

LCMO Master Gardeners' Garden Tour

Garden Tour

Our local Master Gardener group hosted a garden tour for it's members several weeks ago.  We visited 3 lovely, yet unique gardens.  It was so interesting to see how each of us takes the information we receive and utilizes it to our own tastes and needs.

 
Our group has been in existence for 2 years and we have about 30 members.  This was our first (annual) garden tour. 
 
 
The first stop was The Lloyd Family Garden.  They use raised beds which are irrigated.  Aren't they lush?
 





 
Admiring the tomato plants.
 

 
 
Just look at this herb garden! 
 
 
 
One unique thing the Lloyds do is hydroponic gardening.  He grows some of his tomatoes and peppers using this method.
 
 
 
 

Many of us had never seen this system before so Mr. Lloyd explained the whole process.  He fills these containers with pebbles and puts his plants in them.  Several times a day he "waters" the plants with nutrient rich water which he stores in a large container.  These plants yield LOTS of produce  during the summer!


The next stop on our Tour was Vern's Veggies and Vineyards.



Vern and his wife have an expansive area they garden.  Vineyards (which he harvests to make a little wine!), raised vegetable beds, berry patches, and lots and lots of flowers.







 
 


 



 
 
 
 
This hosta bed is a sample of the beautifully planted and maintained gardens throughout the several acre gardens.  Below is another sample of a perfectly manicured flower bed!
 
 
 


The back porch roof is even a grape arbor!
 

 
 
 
 
 
The final stop on our Tour was The Hill's Cottage Gardens.  Mr. and Mrs. Hill love the look of native plants and flowers and have created individual outdoor rooms around their yard.  Everywhere you turn, there is a new surprise to delight the visitor!
 
Here is just a sample of their gardens.
 
 
 




 
The Giant Wisteria!


 
 
What a lovely addition to the outdoor dining area.
 
 
 
 
 
Isn't this a restful place near the Koi pond?
 
 
 
When the tour was over, Mrs. Hill had a lovely dining area set up in her front yard.  Everyone brought a dish to share and we had a delicious dinner.  Fortunately, the weather cooled with a nice breeze so we were really able to enjoy the food and company.
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

I hope you enjoyed our First Annual Master Gardener Tour as much as we did!  Many thanks to the three host families!  We had so much fun viewing and learning about our fellow gardeners!
 
 
Linking to:
 
 
 

8 comments:

xinex said...

Beautiful gardens! Love the grape vines!..Christine

Noel Morata said...

Wow that garden is huge, no wonder they are master gardeners, it woul take days to make everything perfect and what a beautiful food spread!

Dianne said...

Such neat, well tended gardens. I would love to tour that hydroponic garden and learn more about it. Dianne

An Oasis in the Desert said...

Love your pictures of thiese gorgeous gardens. What a treat that must have been.

Suburban Girl said...

I love seeing beautiful gardens. So many creative ideas here!

The Tablescaper said...

What a lovely tour. Each garden is unique but special.

- The Tablescaper

debra @ HOMESPUN said...

This WAS a fun tour! :) Love that grape arbor photo..impressive! :) Everything was very interesting!

Creations By Cindy said...

WOW! I do believe that you have a garden! Love it! Hugs and blessings, Cindy