The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to many events in 2020, not the least of which was the annual garden tour put on by the Marquette Beautification & Restoration Committee, Inc.

Not only do people get to view local residents’ beautiful yards, the event is the biggest fundraiser for the committee, paying for the Petunia Pandemonium flowers along Front Street, flowers in the Front Street roundabout, Tami’s Garden in Father Marquette Park and the welcome sign at Marquette’s west end.

Fortunately, the garden tour resumes this year, and is planned for 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday at five Marquette gardens.

Tickets are $10 each, with children under age 12 admitted free. Tickets are available at Forsberg’s…A New Leaf, 201 S. Front St., Marquette; Flower Works, LLC, 1007 N. Third St., Marquette; Lutey’s Flower Shop, 1015 N. Third St., Marquette; Nagelkirk Gardens, 1000 M-28, Harvey; All Seasons Floral, 1702 Ash St., Ishpeming; the Landmark Inn, 230 N. Front St., Marquette; and the gardens on the day of the tour.

For more details, visit mqtbeautification.org or the committee’s Facebook page.

A city without flowers is a lot duller than one with them. Not only does it brighten the landscape, it provides better habitat for birds and pollinators.

Beginning and even advanced gardeners also can get some tips for their own yards by visiting some of the most beautiful gardens the area has to offer.

Gardens on past tours, for example, have featured flowers of unusual varieties, a small creek and specialty plant beds.

You could drive past these homes and get a quick glimpse of their gardens, but the garden tour is a great way to view these areas close up, both in their front and backyards.

What better way to spend an afternoon or early evening than to walk by, say, a bed of bee balm and watch a hummingbird flit from flower to flower, and perhaps comment to a fellow tour patron how neat it is to see something like this. (You can meet other people on the tour, too, so it’s a good social gathering.)

We strongly urge people to buy a ticket and go on the tour, not only to see wonderful landscapes but to support an organization that does so much good for the community.