Peaceful ponds, wisteria-covered walls, and flower beds in full bloom—this Sunday, June 23, horticulture enthusiasts are invited to visit some of the most unique gardens in the area for the 18th annual Powell River Spring Garden Tour, held this year at the beginning of summer.
This weekend’s tour features 12 gardens, spanning from Cranberry to Thunder Bay. Offerings include an enchanted woodland complete with ferns, trees and forest flowers, and a miniature bamboo grove that boasts 13 varieties. From the waterfront to the city street, in the sun or in the shade, this year’s tour has it all.
The tour is self-guided, with participants choosing which gardens they want to visit. All gardens are open from 9 am to 5 pm, and have signs to help people find them. Local artists will also be in attendance, painting garden scenes at various locations.
Participants are encouraged to ask garden-owners any questions they may have. “If people have an interest in how to beautify their garden, they can get inspiration from how other people do this,” said Diana Wood, one of six members of a committee that organizes the tour. “That’s our purpose—to beautify the town.”
Though it still keeps “spring” in its name, the tour takes place on June 23 this year, a month later than usual. “We had a few springs that were really late, and the flowers that would have normally bloomed didn’t even bloom,” explained Wood. “When we told people we were going to have a summer garden tour in June, all the responses were positive.”
The change allows participants a chance to show off later bloomers such as geraniums, some types of lily and a plethora of roses. Though the date shift isn’t permanent, Wood said if feedback is overtly positive, the committee will consider keeping the event in June for another year.
Along with the season change also comes a change in snacks. For the past few years, Wood’s garden has been used as a place to serve a lunch of soup and sandwiches to warm garden goers up from the sometimes chilly weather. With warmer temperatures expected, this year’s lunch was converted to an English tea, complete with sandwiches and sweets.
The luncheon lasts from 11:30 am to 3 pm. It will be complemented with live music provided by internationally acclaimed harpist Rita Costanzi and four of her students. Costanzi, who is the former principal harpist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the CBC Radio Orchestra, is in Powell River to run the International Harp Academy of the Pacific from June 16 to 27.
Filmmaker Claudia Medina-Culos will be taping the entire event. Also at the lunch will be a master gardener ready to answer any questions participants might have.
Proceeds from the tour will go toward the Powell River Botanic Garden Society, which aims to convert an approximately 10-hectare waste transfer site to the north of Willingdon Beach into a botanic garden used for research and public enjoyment.
To further support the project, a booth at Wood’s house will encourage participants to buy a membership to the society, and to help the group think of a slogan. Part of the funds raised will also be set aside as a yearly horticulture scholarship for local high school graduates.
Tickets to the spring garden tour, which include a guide and a map, can be purchased at Mother Nature, Springtime Garden Centre or Breakwater Books and Coffee for $15.
