Sunday, July 19, 2015

A Garden Tour on the Lake at Henderson, NY!



Last Saturday, July 11, 2015, was the Henderson NY Garden Club's Garden Tour! There were eight homes on the tour and the Henderson School Apartments which featured a vegetable garden and several attractive seating areas.




Henderson, NY, is located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario in Jefferson County. Some of the homes on this tour were in Henderson Harbor. All the homes on the tour have beautiful views of the water. Some of the best sunsets are on Lake Ontario in this area.




It's nice to take a garden tour in your area because it gives you an idea of what shrubs, trees, and perennials grow well in your area, as well as how large they grow, if they are invasive, and what are their soil/light and water requirements. In addition to that, there is usually a garden club member at each house site which can help to identify plants and answer questions that you may have.





The Secret Garden
The above four photos were taken at Deb Newcomb's place. It was very welcoming and you could see the love and appreciation that go into maintaining these gardens.

While these gardens are very beautiful, it's not always easy gardening on these sites. They have very rocky soil, and in some areas there is not much topsoil covering the rocks. In some of these pictures you will see areas of rock edgings and walls and they most likely came from those individual properties.



Another major problem for these gardens are deer. The deer population in this area is unbelievable. I never would have thought that deer would thrive in these areas, but they do and they love it here. Most of the garden club members and owners of the properties that I talked with all said that deer were a problem in the gardens. So the challenge has been to try to have beautiful flowers with the least amount of deer damage. The deer love most any kind of flower buds.



We, personally, have tried many different deer repellents. Some work, but you have to keep at it more often that what's recommended on the labels. We've tried some of the home remedies that you mix yourself with household ingredients, and that might deter them for awhile, but if they get hungry enough you can count on them coming back. We have used the concentrated form of Liquid Fence, and one of my neighbors uses Bobbex. And they both work.


This was a new house in Henderson Harbor which featured new landscaping. 
One of the new raised beds at this home.




Another one of the homes we visited had beautiful decks and a great entrance porch. I loved how it was decorated with the birdhouses in the photo above and the cozy seating area in the picture below.



The two photos below show the large perennial garden at the entrance to this home. I'm sure the rocks that border the garden are from the ground when the property was excavated for the home.






The home in the photo below also includes rock borders and ledges and the owner explained that most the the rock came from their property as well.







This is their view of Lake Ontario.




















Another place on the tour featured a lovely place with beautiful views and perennials. It appeared to be a very welcoming and comfortable home.



















































Another home on the tour featured a home with two beautiful pond areas.



The house and gardens featured in the photos below were the last place we visited on the tour, and it is also the place of friends of ours, Mark and Linda Adams. They have created several themed gardens on various areas of their property. The areas include a sunny garden, a Victorian Garden, a Knot Garden, and a few others as well. There is an extensive amount of shade on the property and they have done a great job of planting shrubs and perennials are that are conducive to that environment.





This building is the back of the Playhouse. 


One of the seating areas in a shady garden.

The Garden Shed

A path leading through the shade garden.


One of their two Fairy Gardens.

I'd like to thank all of the homeowners for opening up their gardens for us to enjoy their beautiful landscapes and views: Dana Keefer, Nancy Denny, Pam Brandt, Linda & Mark Adams, Barb Davidson, Deb Newcomb, Holly Creek, and Jean Kenna. And thanks to the Henderson Garden Club for hosting our visit.

Hope you enjoyed your armchair tour ~


Feel free to comment. 
I would love to hear from you!

8 comments:

  1. I love garden tours! I learn so much from other gardeners.Love the views from the lake! And the first photo of the gate thru the secret garden! I don't know which is worse rocky soil or sand.Deer versus armadillos I think it's all crap shoot no matter where you garden.But it's all fun,isn't it?

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    1. Thanks, Chris. I enjoy the garden tours, too. We do learn a lot from each other by sharing what works and what doesn't. You are right when you say it's all a crap shoot no matter where you garden. We all have our specific problems with soil, pests, weather, etc. But then if we didn't have these challenges it wouldn't be interesting and probably rather boring. It's fun trying to figure out what pests are eating my marigolds or dahlias. (Still haven't figured that out) hahaha

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  2. Since I was not able to see the other gardens I thank you for a great tour with wonderful photos. All the gardens look beautiful and show everyone's love of gardening. You always provide great information that helps each of us improve our gardens.

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    1. Thank you, Linda. It was a beautiful day for a garden tour and the homes and gardens were all lovely and welcoming. The views were magnificent as well. Thanks to you and Mark for sharing your gardens with us. They are truly beautiful and your love of gardening shows through in all your hard work and beautiful gardens.

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  3. Lake Ontario is pretty up your way. You are right, seeing local gardens on tour gives gardeners ideas what grows well, especially like you mention, those having tough, rocky conditions. The seating area made out of the stone is pretty neat. I like the weathervane too.

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    1. Thank you, Donna. It really is a beautiful area on this end of Lake Ontario. The rock outcroppings are very unusual and add another dimension to the landscapes.

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  4. Sue thanks for sharing this tour of stunning gardens...I had not heard of this garden tour....I will have to try and remember it! A wonderful way to spend a summer day and up in Henderson too on the lake!

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    1. Thank you, Donna. I'm glad you liked it. I'm pretty sure that the Henderson Garden Club does not have an annual garden tour, but maybe every few years or so. It was a beautiful day and the the gardens were delightful.

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