The Falcon Garden Club held its 12th Secret Garden Tour July 20. Five members opened their gardens and offered free tours to the public.Linda Beaty ñ ìPeaceful XeriscapeîLinda Beaty said she has lived in her house in Falcon for 11 years and has worked on her yard from the beginning. Utilizing a drip system, she is able to maintain her xeriscaped yard with relative ease, she said. ìI prune in the winter, and in the summer I have to check the emitters of the drip system,î Beaty said. The extra wood she ends up with after pruning goes into a pile to use in her fire pit, she said. ìIt (the drip system) is great because my water bill only goes up about $7 in the summer.îOccasionally, especially during drought weather, Beaty said rabbits will bite the emitters off her drip system; however, they leave her plants alone because she plants things they donít like to eat, she said.Melody and Arthur Wilson ñ ìMany Paths to XeriscapeîMelody Wilson said she often uses catalogs or the Internet to purchase the wide variety of flowers she has planted in her front yard. Art Wilson said he is the brawns behind the work that the couple has put into their garden for the past 14 years, but he said his wife deserves all the credit for the end result.Initially, their yard was fitted with a pop-up sprinkler system, but Wilson reconfigured the system so it would feed a drip system as well, he said. One of their dogs chewed up the first drip line he installed so it had to be replaced, he added.Wilsonís favorite plant is a species of broom bush that blooms with bright yellow flowers, he said. The flowers emit a strong, pleasant aroma. ìWhen Iím working in the garage, I can smell it, and it smells nice,î he said.Judy and Jim Freshwater ñ ìRocky Mountain Cottage GardenîJudy Freshwater said she and her family have lived in their current house for two years, and she has been working on creating a garden with a ìcottage feel.î ìWe want to bring in more color,î Freshwater said. ìWe want to give it a cottage look with lots of pinks and reds.îThe previous owner put in the landscaped lawn and retaining wall, but Freshwater said she added the flower beds with the fresh mulch and plants. Freshwater said, as time permits, sheís tackling projects for the backyard.Kathleen and Kevin Dillon ñ ìQuiet, Simple Country Flower and Vegetable GardensîKathleen and Kevin Dillon have lived in their house in Elbert County since 1987, when most of the houses surrounding their property didnít exist, Kevin Dillon said. The house is built into a natural berm, which helps it withstand the all-too-common winds on the eastern plains, he said.Dillonís plants border the house; and, in spots the plants build up along the walls to the roof. With so much natural landscaping around the house and property, curious natural inhabitants like mule deer often visit. ìWe get deer here almost every night,î he said.Dillon said he has tied little sachets of Irish Spring soap to various parts of his garden, which is supposed to discourage the deer from eating or coming too close.Suzy Oligmueller ñ ìPonds, Patio, Greenhouse and Gardens GaloreîWhen Suzy Oligmueller and her family moved to their property in 1986, there were about five trees growing on the property and that was it, she said. With hard work and a little luck, Oligmueller said she has been able to start almost every kind of plant from seeds or cuttings in her massive garden.Aside from the wide variety of plants she has cultivated, Oligmueller also has a large vegetable garden, as well as two 10,000 gallon ponds filled with Koi fish and lily pads. ìMy oldest Koi fish is about 15 years old,î she said. The Koi are lucky to sneak past the hungry eyes of the blue heron that frequents her property, she said. To deter the heron, Oligmueller strung fishing line above the ponds.With three large greenhouses, Oligmueller is able to maintain a plethora of tropical plants and local plant varieties, she said. Planted from pineapples, she is also growing two pineapple trees.The greenhouse also provides a safe haven for the bullfrog that lives on her property, Oligmueller said. The bullfrog has laid thousands of eggs, and she is helping raise the tadpoles that have hatched, she said. It can take almost two years for the tadpoles to reach adulthood.
