Note: This article originally appeared in the Spirit Valley Days 2008 supplement to the July 27, 2008, edition of the Budgeteer.
Each summer, the Western Garden Tour allows some of Duluth's finest gardeners to be recognized for their hard work.
Organizer Darlene L. Johnson said this year's event, set for Saturday, Aug. 2, is the seventh tour sponsored by Norton Park's United Methodist Church.
"Each year the tour grows," she said in the event's press release, "and we are so pleased to be able to showcase God's beauty with so many people."
A continental breakfast will be served from 9 to ll a.m. at the church, 436 N. 79th Ave. W. (Maps and information about the gardens will be available as well.) The cost for the tour and meal is $8.
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To spice things up, this year's 10-stop tour will include two gardens in Superior, as well as a visit to the gardens at the city's Fairlawn Mansion.
These pictures were taken at the homes of Smithville residents Shelly Pederson and Bobbie Sisto.
Sisto was gracious enough to show me around and offer a few pointers for novice green thumbs: start small, know your sun and shade plants and, for short-term color, utilize annuals.
"They will lift your spirits," she noted. For more tips, Sisto said getting advice at the greenhouse you shop at is a good move.
"Discover Duluth" is an ongoing photo essay series by Matthew R. Perrine that highlights points of interest in and around the region. For more photos from this set, click on the accompanying link at left.
