2023 Garden Tour Showcases Premier Local Gardens
Thursday, Apr. 13, 2023
WICHITA — Tranquil garden paths will transport visitors among thoughtfully designed flowerbeds, shady woodland retreats, and calming water features during the 2023 Garden Tour. Sponsored by the Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardeners, this year’s tour includes six private gardens, each with their own distinctive style. The gardens will be on display and open to the public on June 2, 3, & 4. These local gardens are full of creativity and inspiration, and are open to the public to discover new gardening ideas for three days only: Friday and Saturday (June 2nd and 3rd) from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Sunday, June 4th, from noon to 4:00pm. Tickets are $10 per person, and children 12 and under admitted free with adult.
Enjoy the serene and creative landscaping at your own pace while finding plenty of inspiration along the way. Highlights from the tour this year include an orange garden, a keyhole garden made from fallen branches, a bird-feeding sanctuary, a pollinator garden, imaginative hardscaping (including one with coral), numerous trees and shade plants, multiple water features (one with a colorful koi pond), many unusual plants (gold dust plant, bear’s breeches, and trellises of creeping hydrangea, just to name a few), and whimsical artistic touches at every turn. All plants will be labeled, and Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will be on-hand at each garden to share more about the garden and answer gardening questions.
Advance tickets are available for $10.00 per person at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 21st & Ridge Road and online through our website at: www.sedgwick.ksu.edu/events or directly on Constant Contact at: https://tinyurl.com/GardenTour2023. Online tickets can be presented at any of the gardens during the tour (June 2-4), and will be exchanged for a physical ticket. Tickets will also be available at the gardens on the days of the Tour for $10 each (cash or check only). All proceeds benefit the Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardeners’ educational community outreach programs throughout Sedgwick County.
For additional ticket or event information, please contact the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 316-660-0100.
Featured Gardens:
Woodland Retreat
742 Surrey Ln. (Maize)
Whimsical touches can be found at every turn in this shaded woodland retreat, which at its beginning 40 years ago was a full sun spot. Now, graceful mature trees and curved paths give a sense of discovery to every turn. Multiple water features and a large pond filled with colorful koi are wonderful focal points in this garden. In addition to mature beds filled with hydrangea, iris, and Solomon’s seal, pots filled with annuals provide depth to the borders. A variety of path materials including flagstone and brick blend seamlessly to highlight different plantings in smaller beds. The mix of fern, heuchera, and hostas around the lion water feature are a great example of mixing textures in a shade garden for maximum impact.
Garden of Water Views
9423 W. Wyncroft Ct.
In this garden, a front entrance is maximized with careful hedge planting, special angled pots, and seating areas that invite you in. The side path makes use of full sun with large cannas and hydrangeas as you make your way around the house. The backyard water view is enhanced with a sloped private water feature added in 2011 that provides a relaxing respite with fish swimming around. Trees across from the water follow a stone pathway that make you feel like you’re entering a secret garden. The use of river rock and a bird sculpture featured in this garden serve as a contrast to the plantings. Both shade and sun plantings are highlighted to full effect with lighting at night as well.
Creativity of Nature and Art
9129 N. Seneca (Valley Center)
Birch Lane Estate is named for the nine birch trees on the property. As you enter the drive, you begin to spot the creativity you will be treated to throughout your visit. Many plants live in these gardens in wagons and other mobile receptacles – so they can be moved around easily. The defining theme throughout the garden is creating and recreating spaces.
The property is home to many raccoons, turkeys, owls, wrens, hawks, eagles, woodpeckers, orioles, and an armadillo. The past five years have been spent shaping up the property and planning and expanding the garden areas. A true joy of nature and art is apparent when you visit this garden.
Backyard Garden Medley
4950 Wyndham Ct. (Park City)
Tranquility and harmony best describe this peaceful backyard medley. As you wander throughout the garden areas on their ¼ acre lot, you are aware that the spaces have been designed with a deep appreciation for using the resources around them: using large rock to build sitting benches, and fallen branches to shape a tree house fort, it feels quite natural. It reminds you that gardeners use everything.
There are so many different trees and plants to see in this backyard such as serviceberry, ‘Prairie Gold’ Aspen, ‘Tiger Eyes’ Sumac, large hardy hibiscus, bald cypress, plum yews, ‘Globe’ Blue Spruce, prairie smoke flowers, and prairie burdock. Each area is dotted with an eclectic array of art pieces, from meditating frogs, to colorful, handmade birdhouses, to a “Lucky Buddha Beer” bottle tree.
Islands of Color
2510 N. Greenleaf Ct.
During the past seven years, the homeowner has brought in 32 tons of soil to build a large garden bed, which now spans the length of the backyard. Five more beds were created, with more than 25 trees and a colorful variety of shrubs, plants, and flowers.
Ongoing challenges have been managing drainage issues and protecting shrubs from the extreme cold of winter. Mulch and evergreens were incorporated along the back of the largest bed to protect the shrubs from heat and wind.
A favorite area of the garden is the east bed consisting of hydrangeas, hostas, caladiums, and impatiens with their complimentary textures, shapes, and colors. The homeowner considers the greatest addition to the backyard garden a home-built stone path that winds around the beds closest to the house.
Landscaping that Rocks
2514 N. Greenleaf Ct.
When the homeowner moved here 22 years ago, there were only 5 trees and 10 evergreen bushes in the yard. After digging French drains, building berms, and sodding the yard to control drainage, the homeowner began learning the fundamentals of gardening and design. Today there are more than 20 beds of trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers in the yard, all of which incorporate rocks and boulders in their design, as well as gravel-lined stone pathways.
The largest bed is filled with both shade and sun plants, including the new golden Leyland cypress. Most of the rocks and boulders in the beds are a combination of river rocks, holey limestone boulders, plus 50 pieces of rare coastal coral. The homeowner and their next-door neighbor, whose yard is also on the Garden Tour, have worked together to make this bed unforgettable.
For more information, contact Matthew McKernan at 316-660-0140, or mckernan@ksu.edu.
