Aug 14, 2020

2020 Garden Tour goes virtual

Posted Aug 14, 2020 12:02 PM
<b>A shot from this week's virtual tour.</b> Image courtesy <a href="https://www.salinatv.org/">Salina Media Connection</a>
A shot from this week's virtual tour. Image courtesy Salina Media Connection

The 2020 Garden Tour by the K-State Research and Extension Central Kansas District Master Gardeners has gone virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The original 2020 Garden Tour which was planned for June has now been converted into a pre-recorded video based tour that is currently airing on Salina Media Connection in Salina and online.

While the CKD Master Gardener volunteers are sad not be able to host the tour in-person this year due to the pandemic, we still want to offer our community a fun way to engage horticulture, be inspired, and to learn.

The virtual/video garden tours are being aired each day on Salina Media Connection starting at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.  A new private garden will be featured beginning Monday of each week for four weeks.  The recordings will also be available to watch online.  Find information and links to each video on our website www.centralkansas.ksu.edu.

Here are the four gardens that have graciously allowed us a peek into their backyards to see all the beautiful work they have done:

The Succulent Paradise:  John and Sherry Bishop have created a true backyard paradise.  In only 4 years they transformed their backyard to include beautiful layers of plants, art, and dĂ©cor that work together in stunning ways.  You’ll see a grand collection of succulents, some of their favorite plants, as well as many other tropical plants and unique containers that add beautiful texture to the landscape. 

The Inviting Oasis:  Terry and Elaine Ferguson’s garden is a perfect getaway.  The garden includes careful planning for outdoor rooms and sitting areas including a pool centered in the landscape design.  Elaine’s containers are absolutely stunning and the flow of flowers throughout the landscape are a breathtaking and refreshing experience.  This tour will even include Terry sharing his skill on the bagpipe!

The Meandering Sanctuary:  Rick and Angie Frisbie have created a backyard sanctuary full of wonderful surprises.  In 5 years they have planted an amazing variety of plants and trees surrounding inviting garden pathways and flowerbeds.  The natural driftwood art, espaliered trees, and fruit trees all add to the wonderful beauty you’ll experience on this meandering tour.

The Peaceful Garden Retreat:  John and Linda Davis love their peaceful garden retreat and you will too.  You’ll get to see a beautiful shade garden that forms a perfect landscape floor under a large and majestic pine tree, wonderful raised vegetable beds, native grasses, a weeping redbud and an outdoor sitting area from which to enjoy the all the beauty.

The 2020 Virtual Garden Tour is a community outreach event and is the only fundraising opportunity for the CKD Extension Master Gardener volunteers in 2020.  Due to not being able to sell tickets for the tour this year we would greatly appreciate any donation you can make in lieu of a ticket to help our volunteers to be able to continue their work and outreach in our community.  You can visit www.centralkansas.ksu.edu to make a donation online through PayPal or with a debit or credit card.

Money raised through donations goes toward yearly maintenance and planting of the Master Gardeners Public Demonstration Garden in Salina and other Master Gardener community projects including children’s and community Gardens, Master Gardener outreach events, fairs and more.