The Sawtooth Botanical Garden’s 24th annual Garden Tour takes place Saturday
BY DANA DUGAN
The Sawtooth Botanical Garden’s 24th annual Garden Tour is an opportunity to peer into the secret spaces of Wood River Valley residents, and garden enthusiasts. On Saturday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the tour will feature a French-styled garden, streamside gardens, cottage gardens and one that is reminiscent of a park setting, all in the mid-Valley.
“A connecting factor with all our gardens this year is that they are completely perennial, with the exception of very few annual pots,” said Cherie Kessler, an SBG board member and part of the Garden Tour steering committee. “There are interesting grasses and shrubbery, as well as bloomers, and the raised veggie beds are pretty special,” Kessler said. “Much thought went into rotation of blooming to last the entire season in all gardens.”
The tour includes two gardens in Starweather, two in The Valley Club, one in Zinc Spur and one in Deer Creek. There will be refreshments, musicians and artists at each garden. In fact,
one garden owner, Lynne Heidel, will play music at her own garden with her fellow Wood River Orchestra members during the day.
“She’s doing double duty for the Garden Tour, which showcases the volunteer nature of this community event,” Kessler said.
Each garden reflects the particular owner’s, and the gardener’s, tastes and inclinations. The two Valley Club gardens—the Morris and the Prudden—both feature vistas, numerous trees and unique sites that utilize the openness and sunniness within The Valley Club’s location. At the Morris Garden, daylilies were transplanted from family gardens in Virginia, bringing a touch of Old World to a new home.
The Petersons, who have roots in Washington State, have created what they refer to as lush privacy at their Deer Creek home. The spacious landscape is a sanctuary for migrating birds, as well as the close-knit family, who have all contributed to the gardens over the years.
In the Rognlien garden in Zinc Spur, Cindy Hamlin helped design and install the owner’s vision for a continually blooming cottage garden that attracts birds, bees and butterflies. Color abounds with a mass of perennials.
Aimee Eiguren and Robert Nocochea purchased their Starweather home from another family, who had created gardens to reflect their French heritage and love of French design. The perennial landscape has many French architectural and antique elements, which are displayed throughout the garden. Charming is a word that comes to mind.
Pamela Street, a Wood River Valley artist, did renderings from each garden that are featured in the free Garden Tour booklet. Booklets are available at the SBG, local garden centers, retail outlets, and bookstores.
Tickets are $25 for SBG members or $30 for non-members. Ticketholders will find their names on a roster at each garden. They will receive a wristband for the tour at the first garden where they check in, no matter which garden is visited initially. Prices will increase by $5 each two days prior to the tour.
Tickets are available at sbgarden.org, and by calling the SBG at (208) 726-9358. Tickets will also be available on the day of the tour as well at each of the six gardens.