Lush green gardens, famed desert garden featured on tours

by Kim Nowacki
ON Magazine

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Attention green thumbs and gardening groupies: It's time for this year's Garden Tour, benefiting the Yakima Area Arboretum.

The self-guided tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and features the glorious gardens of:

* Ollie Weitz.

* Metiner and Cynthia Kimel.

* Neil and Leslie McClure.

* John and Carol Barany.

* Dave and Margie Van Cleve.

* The Master Gardener Demonstration Garden.

Garden Tour-goers will discover luscious lawns filled with colorful perennials, stunning water features, shade gardens, children's gardens, wildlife habitats, unusual plants and clematis gardens. And if you're looking for ideas for your own yard, make sure to bring a pen and paper to jot down notes, or maybe even a digital camera.

Garden Tour tickets cost $20 and are available at the arboretum, Loo-Wit Gardens, Cowiche Creek Nursery and Russell's Nursery.

For more information, call the arboretum at 248-7337, or visit www.ahtrees.org.

 

Also this month, Northwest cactus expert Ron McKitrick of Union Gap will be offering free public tours of his garden.

According to the Yakima Area Arboretum, McKitrick's display is recognized as one of the finest desert gardens in the world.

Known as Hillside Desert Botanical Gardens, McKitrick's 20 display gardens have been a stop on the arboretum's garden tour and featured in newspaper articles. It was toured by members of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America during the group's convention in Seattle last year.

Tours will be offered between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. by reservation. Call McKitrick, 248-1742, or e-mail hillsidecacti@nwinfo.net to schedule a time. For more information on Hillside Desert Botanical Gardens, visit www.hdbgi.com.