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Garden Tour set

Cindy Baker stands by her garden on Ridgewood Drive in Harvey, one of the stops on Thursday’s Marquette Beautification & Restoration Committee Inc. Garden Tour. The annual event raises money for the group’s Petunia Pandemonium. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — Six gardens are on this Thursday’s 25th annual Garden Tour sponsored by the Marquette Beautification & Restoration Committee Inc.

The event will run from 1 to 7 p.m. rain or shine.

The gardens belong to: Gloria Pansier, 320 Woodridge Ave., Marquette; Kim Parlato, 377 W. Crescent St., Marquette; Father Marquette Park at the corner of Front Street and Baraga Avenue, which is the home of Tami’s Garden that was created in honor of the late MBRC president, Tami Dawidowski; Tina and Darrell Barber, 700 Hennepin Road, Marquette; Kristine and David Saint-Onge, 105 Lakewood Lane, Harvey; and Cindy Baker, 123 Ridgewood Drive, Harvey.

Father Marquette Park will serve as a refreshment stop on the tour.

Baker talked about her garden, which is beautiful in both her front and backyards.

Dwarf cosmos are found in Cindy Baker’s garden. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

It even has a name: the Plant Whisperer’s Garden.

The front section contains a giant rhubarb as well as a plethora of poppies, which in her case are annuals.

“They just reseed, and I just let them go wherever they want,” Baker said.

A row of giant fleece flowers is situated by the poppies for added interest.

Although Baker’s garden is noticeable from the road, visitors to her backyard will be impressed as well. In fact, she plans to have a red carpet put in place to greet tour patrons who walk to her backyard.

“The back is full-on southern exposure,” Baker said.

The amount of sunlight it receives has allowed many plants to grow, including dwarf cosmos, purple coneflower, salvia, many lilies and an Arctic kiwi, which bears edible fruit.

“They are full. They are loaded this year,” Baker said.

Her backyard garden also includes added attractions like leaf sculptures and a rock garden, with fairy gardens in the works.

Baker has been gardening since she was a young girl.

“My dad gardened. My grandparents gardened. It’s been kind of a lifelong thing for me,” Baker said.

Pat Gruber, tour chairwoman, said the event is the main fundraiser for the MBRC’s annual Petunia Pandemonium, in which flowers are planted mainly along South Front Street in the city of Marquette.

The gardens on this tour are varied.

Gruber said Whetstone Creek runs through the Pansier property, for example, and the Barber property is built on a hillside.

“All the gardens have something unique to show people,” Gruber said.

Tickets for the tour are $10 each, with children under age 12 admitted free.

Tickets are available at the following locations: Forsberg’s…A New Leaf, Garden Bouquet & Design, FlowerWorks, Lutey’s and the Landmark Inn, all in Marquette; Nagelkirk in Harvey; and All Seasons Floral & Gifts in Ishpeming. Tickets also are available at the gardens on the day of the tour.

For more information, contact Gruber at 906-228-6764 or email mqtbeautification.org.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.

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