By Janet Hughes

The Bogachiel Garden Club enjoyed a fabulous pop-up garden tour arranged by past president Molly Erickson Breed on August 31 to the beautiful home of new member Norma Keys. It was all arranged with a phone call to each member announcing the tour for the next day, followed by an email of location and time.

While it was short notice, the tour was fantastic seeing various “rooms” or destination areas in this beautiful yard from a tree house, wild garden, potted plants, vegetable and flower gardens, a flowing water feature and pond, potting shed, greenhouse and she-shed. This yard was amazing! Everywhere you looked was the gift of beauty. There was a fallen tree that was hollowed out to create a planter filled with marigolds and other flowers.

The sweet smell of dahlias filled the air… and their appearance was stunning. The garden owners said at one time they had over 1,000 different varieties but some were lost to frost, rot, and squirrels. Yes, they do dig up the bulbs every fall, clean, store and replant again in the spring.

While there is much work and love put into the yard, there is also a shaded bench near the pond to rest and just listen to the water, enjoy playful goldfish, and find peace. No garden is complete without some hardscape. Large oval stones were placed in a daisy design near the pond …after all, no one ever had to weed a rock.

The owners of this beautiful garden kept apologizing for the few weeds, the sun damage, and a few minor items they saw as flaws, all we saw was beauty everywhere!

Bogachiel Garden Club holds meetings on the third Wednesday of the month at the Community Center (pool meeting room, 90 Maple Ave.) at 1:15 p.m. These meetings provide a forum for gardeners to share knowledge and experiences; bring experts to the community; and involve the community with our projects. If you would like more information about Bogachiel Garden Club, contact Janet at 360-640-1401 or email BogachielGC@gmail.com.