Washington Betterment Foundation?s garden walk featured five local gardens

By Gretchen Teske,

Golden Triangle News Service

Five locals opened their homes, and gardens, to visitors during the Washington Betterment Foundation?s annual garden walk.

On Sunday, Aug. 12, citizens were encouraged to step outside and enjoy the scenery. Four homes and the cabin at Sunset Park were featured for visitors to come and enjoy. From master gardeners to just beginners, the walk displayed a variety of different kinds of gardens.

Jeanne and Gary Kos were among those featured. Their home at 615 W. Adams St. features multiple fish ponds, repurposed buildings and a prayer labyrinth. Jeanne has been a master gardener for over 20 years, but just began her garden at home a little over 12 years ago. She has planted over 33 trees and numerous garden beds on her property since. ?I used to say it was my therapy, but now I say it?s work,? she jokes.

Kos? yard features many repurposed buildings such as a chicken coop her grandkids used for a playhouse and a goat shed that has been cut in half and is used for patio space. The labyrinth in the back of her yard was created in memory of Molly Edmondson.

Tara Bucci?s home at 405 S. Ninth Ave. was also featured. Her garden is only three years old as she is working to expand it. Her inspiration for her garden was her grandfather, who lived in Ohio and had an extravagant garden. ?This is just a tiny garden because I work a lot,? she says. ?This is just a third-year garden. It takes a while to get one established.?

She has over 30 kinds of flowers on her property that she planted herself, in memory of her late grandfather.

Marde McConnell was at the property representing the Betterment Foundation and said the goal of the foundation is to promote the beautification of the city. ?It?s a way to highlight the good works that people are doing and raise a little money, too,? she said.

The foundation uses the funds for physical improvements for Washington such as trees, flowers, the new YMCA building, playground equipment and park benches. For every project completed, the recipients have to do something in kind or match the project for someone else in order for the betterment of Washington to continue.

Over at Sunset Park, members of the DAR hosted an open house at the cabin. The park was also featured in the garden walk and the cabin was open to encourage visitors to learn about the city. Marj Lins, treasurer of the DAR, said because Washington?s slogan is the city of flowers and trees, it only makes sense to have a walk to celebrate it. ?We all just like to take care of the park,? she said. ?It?s a matter of pride for the town.?

She said featuring not only local homes but the park is great for Washington because it promotes the hard work volunteers have put into the area. ?I think a lot of people just drive by and don?t have a lot of time to stop, but even if they just take a quick look as they drive by, it?s appreciated,? she said.

Steve Roth was instrumental in planting flowers at the park and heading up the garden walk itself. Roth is a board member of the Betterment Foundation and is in charge of the park.His home at 914 S. Iowa Ave. was also featured in the walk which features multiple ponds and lots of colors to bring life to the garden. When he first began, his garden was all dirt, but he kept progressing and completed it all himself which he describes as a labor of love. ?It?s time-consuming,? he said. ?If you don?t have a lot of time, I wouldn?t recommend getting into it.?

He said the goal of the foundation is always to promote the physical beauty of Washington to promote the city. ?We want to make it a better place to live,? he said. ?It?s a great place to live already, but we just want to make it better. There?s always something you can do better.?

Tom and Connie Wheelan live at 428 N. Iowa Ave. They have lived on the property for less than a year but have made the gardens their own by implementing skeletons and creating their own theme for their garden. Both are from Washington originally and were happy to be part of the walk because it gave them the opportunity to be a part of something to better their community. ?This is the town that we grew up in and we love,? Tom said. ?It?s nice to be at the age where you can give something back to the town.?