From waterfalls and ponds, to flowers and vegetable gardens, there is something for everyone to see Saturday.
With a total of 13 homes on the Green River Pond and Garden Tour, which will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., residents are sure to see something that will change the way they look at gardening in Sweetwater County. Of the 13 homes, seven are in Green River, one is in Jamestown and five are in Rock Springs.
Pond tour director Lyneen Murphy said the pond tour was going to take a break this year, but that quickly changed.
“My decision to have a 2015 pond tour came early last year. By October 2014, I had already started a list for the 2016 tour. By November that list grew to 10 homes and I knew if I waited until 2016 that the list would have grown to the point where I would have started a wait list,” Murphy said. “That’s something I did not want to do, so the only way to resolve it, was to have a 2015 tour.”
At this time, Murphy is not planning on having a pond tour next year, however, if there is an early interest from homeowners wanting tour next year, she will host a 2016 pond tour.
This year’s tour will be different from last year’s because there are six new homes on the tour -- three in Green River, one in Jamestown and two in Rock Springs. She said they also have gardens with newly built ponds and waterfalls.
“Visitors will have the chance to view a large, river fed pond and a garden with one beautiful view,” Murphy said. “Every garden home on this year’s tour will give visitors a free pass to amazing and creative garden homes.”
Every year poses a different challenge for gardeners and pond enthusiasts.
“I think we all agree that the weather has been really bizarre this year,” she said. “The rain, wind and insects have caused challenging issues for all gardeners.”
She said the rain caused some plants to thrive, but they were then devoured by insects. Many gardeners had to apply some type of insecticide to take care of the insect problem.
As for the ponds, the weather has not drastically impacted them. However, Murphy said they have had an abundant growth of algae, which is always a problem in ponds and a difficult one to resolve.
Even though the tour doesn’t have a master gardener on hand, they will have a botanist and the manager of Desert Water Gardens of Salt Lake City at Murphy’s home to answer any questions. Murphy said this business will have a trailer full of water plants, water lilies, koi, goldfish and other pond items for sale.
New this year, is the six-foot teardrop flags that will mark each home on the pond tour. Murphy said these signs will just make it easier for tour goers to find the homes. Tour guides are available at Riverside Nursery, the Green River Chamber of Commerce, Castle Rock Realty, and both Green River and Rock Springs Taco Times.
Murphy is encouraging those who want to see all of the homes to start at 9 a.m. For more information visit the website http://www.greenriverpondtour.org.
Raising funds
This year, the Green River Pond and Garden Tour’s Annual raffle will benefit Hospice of Sweetwater County.
According to the hospice website, the Hospice of Sweetwater County is a non-profit group dedicated to offering support and care a person needs during their end-of-life process.
They seek to improve the quality of life for those in their care through addressing their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. They also treat the patient and family as a whole and provide both comfort and support for the patient and caregivers.
The pond tour committee decided to pick this fundraiser after hearing from Misty Wright at one of its meetings.
“Misty is an extreme gardener and her talents have drawn attention throughout our community,” Murphy said.
“Misty learned her garden secrets from her grandmother, Evelyn King. Evelyn’s garden talents helped shape and create many spaces in Green River. Sadly, Evelyn passed away in February. Misty expressed how grateful she and her family were with the compassionate help Hospice of Sweetwater provided not only her grandmother, but the entire family during those stressful and emotional days.”
Murphy said Wright’s garden is one of those on the tour this year.
“I hope everyone has a chance to visit with Misty and see how her grandmother, Evelyn King, taught Misty and many others how to bring beauty into their own gardens,” Murphy said.
To raise money, Murphy said they were looking for donations from the community, which has responded.
“I would like to thank everyone for all the amazing donations,” Murphy said.
Some of the items on the raffle include a 10/22 Ruger rifle with a bucket of shells, a horse print, a stained-glass stepping stone, three-piece cherry red bistro set, garden basket, a computer games basket, handmade pottery, case of oil, hand-painted framed picture and gift certificates.
Murphy said they continue to receive raffle items daily; and will just add those items to the list.
Tickets for the raffle will be sold at each home on the tour. The drawing will take place Saturday after the tour and winners will be notified by phone.
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