Our community has many beautiful scenes to take in on a daily basis, but once a year we get a special treat: The Missouri Valley Master Gardeners, “Tour of Lawns and Gardens.”
This year the Master Gardeners allowed us to take the tour and for those of you that missed it, allow us to walk you through this beautiful trek through words and pictures. Although it won’t compare to the real thing, we think you will enjoy it just the same.
If you’ve never heard of the Master Gardeners, you should get to know them. These folks are endeavoring to make your community more beautiful, and that benefits us all. Their mission is to, “Inform, educate, and interact with the community on the subject of horticulture, and to share their love and enthusiasm for gardening.”
The Lawn and Garden Tour has been going on for 4 years now, featuring a wide array of homes that offer unique, plush vegetation to this area. The homes that are featured can be nominated or chosen a few different ways: The Yankton Garden Club sponsors a “Garden of the Month” so some homes are chosen that way. Or a Master Gardener may simply see a yard that catches their eye and ask the owner if they would like their lawn and garden to be featured. Also, many homes are nominated through someone’s recommendation.
The annual Lawn & Garden Tour is not the only contribution the Master Gardeners give our area each year. They host workshops and demonstrations throughout the year, they have a speaker in the spring, usually in March and one in September, both of which are open to the public. They assist at the community gardens on Saturday morning. They answer questions that people have about their lawn and garden in conjunction with the Extension Office. You can catch them at the capital building on September 8th for their annual plant sale.
The Tour this year featured 5 homes: each splendid in their own way.
Participating homes included: John & Amy Neu, Albert & Evelyn Schindler, Jerry & Jan Byrkeland, Bruce & Kristi Jensen, and Keith & Brenda Haberman.
