Seven years ago, when Kathy Bartley and Amber List's house was built, the one-acre yard was a blank canvas waiting to be painted.
"The yard was basically empty, there was this large Maple and the tree line, which really, our yard cuts through it," Bartley said.
"They did plant grass but it was seedy," List said.
Bartley is a master gardener. But both of the retired teachers are passionate gardeners who took advantage of spring and summer breaks to create a beautiful landscape of colorful flowers, shrubs and a 16-by-18-foot pond with a three-tiered waterfall, accessible by crossing a red-arched foot bridge built by Bartley.
This magnificent landscape didn't happen overnight, "All these plants were from one- and two-gallon pots. I refuse to spend a fortune on plants. Also most of our trees are from Arbor Days when they aren't much more than sticks."
Bartley's sons helped to dig the pond and haul the rocks, which she said was completed mostly in one weekend.
Bartley and List invite you to come and relax on the glider under the pergola they built last year and watch the colorful Koi swim in the pond during the Illiana "Living Watercolours" Water Garden and Pond Tour 2010. Their garden is one of 19 open for the tour July 23-25.
Not all gardens are in yards as large as Bartley's and List's. Jack and Joan Webb have packed a lot of garden and pond into their suburban Crown Point lot.
"We didn't even have a pond when we joined the club," Jack Webb said. "We had a water feature (a two-tiered water barrel) on our deck and they said that was enough."
Seven years ago he and a friend dug out the 14-foot pond which he said was fairly easy because the previous owners had an in-ground pool they had filled in with mostly sand.
Once the pool was done, they created a flagstone patio on one side and a perennial flower bed flanking the other.
The Webb's garden has bits of whimsy such as using plates from yard sales as a border for a flower bed, the ladder in the yard with plants on it or the bird houses Joan Webb and her granddaughter painted on the side of the shed flanking a real one.
Jack Webb is proud of what he likes to call his "weird plants," such as his shrimp plant and his potted Wisdom Horns.
But more than just looking at people's gardens, the members of the Illiana Garden Pond Society want to help educate visitors about planning and maintaining gardens.
The $5 ticket price (if purchased in advance, $6 on the day of the walk) is used to provide scholarships for Purdue Master Gardener programs and to help build ponds for schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
"We pay for the creation and maintenance of ponds at schools," said Carol Bauer, this year's tour chairwoman. "Our spring expo and the tour are the society's big fundraisers. That combined with club dues dictates how much we can give."
Every club member speaks highly about the education elements of membership as well as the fellowship they gain with fellow gardeners.
"When you're a member of the club you're always learning," Bauer said.
Many of the homes will be offering the twilight tours.
"The garden looks completely different on a night walk," Bartley said. "The ponds are lit and the koi love the light."
Tours will be available from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 when bought in advance and $6 the day of the walk. Youths 15 and younger can attend free.
Visitors may tour 16 residential gardens, 2 businesses and a school with a pond sponsored by the society. At each venue, visitors can talk to owners and gather ideas for their own water gardens. A complete list of the gardens and locations is on the society's website.
More information also is available at www.illianagardenpond.org. or (219) 663-2365.
