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    Suzanne Davis walks the creek by her house surrounded by native riparian area.
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    James and Rosemary Barta show off their art. James works on pottery and photography while Rosemary uses oils and watercolors.
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    Tom Wiley works with alcohol ink on a landscape painting.
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    Donna Richards stands in her vegetable garden.
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    PHOTOS BY DALTON SWEAT/WIMBERLEY VIEW Lorie Leigh Lawrence shows the porous rock she unearthed for her garden.

Garden Tour shines through the rain and mist

The annual Garden Tour was hosted by the Wimberley Garden Club last weekend.

Even amidst the rain, there were still many gardens worth enjoying.

Nearly neighbors on Flite Acres Road, the homes of LeeAnn & Mike Bowers along with Suzanne & Edward Davis were on display. Both homes, and gardens for that matter, were impacted during the Memorial Day Flood of 2015.

“Their story was really about how they recovered,” Kathie Carlson, co-chair of the Garden Tour, said.

The garden at the Davis’ house has expanded greatly over the last few years with a focus on riparian recovery. With a small creek running down to the Blanco River slicing through the property, it was important to allow proper re-growth of native flora.

“They were concentrating on have an open meadow down by the water,” Carlson said. “They planted grasses with deep roots, so it would be less likely to erode should water go over them.”

The planned growth of natural grasses has many benefits beyond beauty. They can filter water while slowing down floods and even help hold the soil in place.

Other locations on the Garden Tour showed how fast, and how much effort it can take to plant a garden in a new home. Lorie Leigh Lawrence showed the garden in her back yard on Latoya Trail. She discovered limestone rock just beneath the surface. After a through cleaning, it revealed the natural depressions and porous nature of the rock creating a beautiful centerpiece for the garden.

At each location, a local artist had work on display as the Garden Club partnered with the Wimberley Valley Art League. Normally the artists would set up in each garden but the rainy weather pushed many indoors for the event.

Typically, the event draws hundreds of visitors, though final numbers were not available as of Monday afternoon.

“We couldn’t do this without all the docents and the artists,” Carlson said. “We had around 85 people who were volunteering. It’s a big event. I’m always impressed with the generosity of people who are so willing to share their time to help.”

Wimberley View

P.O. Box 49
Wimberley, TX 78676
Phone: 512-847-2202
Fax: 512-847-9054