Garden Tour and Social Hour

by John Alibrandi
The garden tour, held on May 27th, was a real success and showed that our neighborhood is indeed a great place to live. The variety of gardens proved to be quite interesting. We started at the garden of Dan Frisch, a peaceful mostly shady garden complete with hammock, a bench supported by tree trunk slices and a soothing fountain. A great place for solitude or perhaps reading a good book.

A few of us slowly turned into a pretty good sized group. Gretchen Otte, Stella Manios, Dan Frisch, Becky Davis, Stephen McLean, John and Sarah Conrad, David McCollough, Larry Ruginsky Mr. Mitchell, myself, John Alibrandi and my partner, Philip Mullins. It was great to pick up tips from other neighbors along with a little tidbit from Mr. Mitchell about how he used to play in our lot when he was young, before our house existed.

When we arrived at our house, food and beverages were served and we walked through our gardens containing hostas, amaryllis and impatiens among other rather unique plants. We are lucky that we have plenty of space and ample sun and shade areas in which to grow a variety of plants.

Our favorites are the Iris and the Lilies. Next, the group walked across the street to Gretchen's house. Her garden features her signature roses along with an awesome collection of Amaryllis and plenty of Impatiens and  Petunias and of course, the Lilies surrounding the perimeter.

From there we headed up Atwood to Becky's house. After admiring the great bird bath in the front yard, we traveled up a peaceful walkway on the side of the house full of a variety of species of plants that leads to a colorful garden in the rear. Becky and Stephen showed us their developing succulent garden with hens and chickens, among others, making their way into the environment. As a finale to this wonderful yard, we marveled at the great arrangement Stephen had created for his entranceway.

Lastly, we took the back street to John and Sarah's. Philip and I had looked at their house in our quest for ownership, and I really didn't know it was the same place. They have completely re-landscaped the back yard, with new sod and shrubbery, a swing, a raised vegetable garden and an intense water control system to prevent “Niagara Falls” occurring during rainfall. It was an amazing transition. John and Sarah served beverages and snacks which was a great ending to what we thought was a thoroughly enjoyable day with great people, wonderful conversation, and helpful tips. Thanks to everyone who got it all together organizing what we hope will now be an annual event.