By Andrea Teague
Students usually do not have the time or space to garden, but this weekend they can enjoy the beauty and fun of gardening without all of the work, while donating to a worthy cause.
The 2006 Hidden Garden Benefit Tour includes tours of 14 local gardens as well as gardening workshops at Thanksgiving Point and live musical performances. All proceeds for the tour benefit the emergency and trauma services at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
“It would interest anyone who loves to look at gardens or wants to create their own garden, so if you just like the beauty of the outdoors, this would be a great thing to see,” said Janet Frank, media manager for Intermountain Healthcare.
The gardens were all volunteered for the benefit by their owners and vary in style and composition.
“Some of them are very extravagant and elegant,” Frank said. “Others are more simple, and you can say, ”Wow, I can do that at my house.””
One of the owners of the gardens on tour, Sheila Pickering, said she is glad she decided to be involved with the tour because it encouraged her and her husband to improve their garden.
“We already had a pretty yard, we love it and we live in it,” she said. “It just spurred us on to do a few more things that we maybe wouldn”t have done that I”m really happy that we”ve got now.”
Because of the variety of gardens and activities, different types of people, from an experienced gardener to a person who just enjoys looking at flowers, can enjoy this tour.
Project director for the Celebration of Health Foundation, Dennis Morganson, said this tour has an appeal for people in many stages of life, including students.
“I”m sure that a lot of students are interested in gardening,” he said. “They probably don”t have a lot of space presently, but down the road they certainly will and they can get a lot of great ideas and develop plans for their own gardens when they get established and set up in their own homes.”
Musicians will perform in many of these gardens, adding to the beautiful atmosphere. The musical entertainment includes a string quartet, a solo violinist and guitarists.
Other entertainment includes contests and drawings, with prizes ranging from garden shop gift certificates, quilts and a grand prize of “Puffed Up Prince,” a bronze sculpture by Gary Lee Price, a local sculptor whose statues are displayed in collections all over the world, including the Hong Kong National Library.
“I think it appeals to a broad spectrum of individuals,” Morganson said. “I think anyone would enjoy it.”
*Ticket Info: $13 in advance through Celebration of Health Foundation and local greenhouses
$16 during the tour at the gardens
Garden tour shows beauty in the outdoors, benefits hospital
