A series of garden articles from the early 2000s about Walkerton Horticultural Society activities, will be published several times over the next few months, in loving memory of long-standing society president, Nancy Bajurny who was always dedicated to beautifying our town.
“On Tuesday, June 20, 2000 the Walkerton Horticulture Society loaded two vans filled with eager gardeners for a trip to Southampton to tour the gardens of Deb Morphet ‘The Artsy Gardener.’ This lady is incredible in her garden designs made from cedar branches, twigs and ivy vine. From planters to trellis work she has something for everyone, including her lovely garden items painted in folk art design.
“Our second tour stop was at the home of Betty Macdonald, who we found working in her garden. Betty is a delightful lady who has many unusual plants. Her gigantic purple Globe Master alliums and beautiful climbing roses called ‘New Dawn’ caught everyone’s attention.
“Betty’s back yard is amazing from flowering trees and shrubs, breathtaking Clematis to outstanding blooming perennials. Whatever direction you turn, there is another plant that catches your eye and causes you to take a closer look. Betty has many interesting garden accessories decorating her flower beds, including metal water features, garden stones and figures, sculptures and beautiful pottery pieces. All of these items are placed within her gardens so tastefully and artistically that the mind is tricked into thinking one is in a studio or on a stage waiting for the artist to reposition the props, only to be brought back to reality by Betty as she runs after the resident rabbit who seems to have taken a liking to some of the plants.
“On July 16. the Walkerton Horticultural Society held the ‘2000’ Yellow Ribbon Garden Tour. The evening before the tour, the executive held an appreciation supper for garden tour hosts at the home of Lola and Sid Timms, who also had their beautiful country gardens on the tour. This get-together provided all hosts an opportunity to tour the gardens and meet with everyone.
“Karen and Cecil Schnurr’s gardens were the first tour stop. A slight drizzle of rain made their spectacular gardens sparkle even more and did not stop anyone from continuing on with the tour. The next stop was at the home of Wanita Hollands whose hard work showed a radiant display of colour. On to the gardens of Christine Smith where everyone was in for a big surprise as from the road one cannot see her lovely terraced flowerbeds.
“Our next stop was a peek into the very private gardens of Jop and Richard Knechtel. Their unique landscape design, including a moss garden was captivating and inspired everyone with lots of ideas.
“Chris and Pam Peabody’s garden holds a special magic. The display of ornamental grasses mixed with perennials and beautiful pieces of pottery tucked into the garden corners was delightful.
“The last stop was at the home of Maureen and Rick Schuler. Here we were treated to a gorgeous array of nearly every perennial imaginable… and not a weed in sight.
“Donna Kaufman will be the September guest speaker talking about fall arrangements, everyone is welcome.
“A big thank you goes out to all the volunteers and Horticulture members who assisted in the planting of the beds, planters and hanging baskets. The town looks great.”
