Garden Tour in Muskogee June 18

IF YOU GO
Muskogee Garden Club Garden Tour of 5 gardens
June 18, 10 to 5
$5

Tickets
About Hair 603 S York,
Blossoms 3012 E Hancock BL
Stay Home Services 103 N 37 ST.
And at participating homes on the day of the tour

Information 918-683-2373 and 918-687-6124

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In the Founders Place district of historic Muskogee, master gardener Anita Whitaker has been gradually improving and changing her environment to suit the growth of a large family. Her garden is one of 5 on the upcoming garden tour.

The front yard by the driveway features a rose bed with over 100 varieties and a children’s garden with stepping stones made for each grand and great grandchild. Behind the children’s bed is a playhouse that was put in place in 1980.

Behind the fence that contains the roses, there is a swimming pool with gardens on two sides. Those beds contain assorted shrubs and flowers such as azaleas, ferns, holly and milkweed for Monarch butterflies. A pergola with a false waterfall is tucked into a back corner.

In the white-fence surrounded back yard, Anita removed the grass and replaced it with a formal garden that is visible from large windows in her kitchen. Brick paths and four uniquely shaped garden beds cover the area. The beds are surrounded by dwarf boxwoods and hold white blooming and silver plants such as Licorice plant (Helichrysum), lamb’s ears, white petunias, white verbena and Artemisia.



Large beds to the side of the bricked area hold hydrangeas, hostas, monkey grass and ferns. Behind the garden house is a raised bed vegetable garden with everything from cabbage to eggplant.

Wrap up your tour at the fountain garden in front of the house. It is set off with pea gravel paths and a small greenhouse. In this area, look for lilies, perilla, Kerria Japonica, roses, penstemon, and Gaillardia.


At the corner of Honor Heights DR and Robb AV, Jim and Melinda Murphy have created a peaceful retreat of gardens, fountains and seating areas. Jim loves to garden, Melinda excels at design, and their combined efforts throughout the garden will delight anyone who enjoys entertaining outside.

In addition to the overall comfort of their grounds, look for these special features: In the back yard, high in a tree is a birdhouse that Jim and Melinda created, complete with pebble studded stucco and a copper roof.

On the back patio, an outdoor table that Jim hand planed out of a single red oak tree. The Murphys said that the back patios were installed, blending new brick with old.

Jim and Melinda made a fountain out of an antique pump given to them by their son-in-law.

The shade garden was a rain-water filled bog until a year ago. Now it is a shade bed filled with hostas, Hellebores, ginger, ferns and Coral Bells or Alum root (Heuchera).

At the front door gardens, notice the front window boxes crafted by Angel Ornamental Iron Works. They are filled with pots of deep-red Pelargonium geraniums and surrounded by white roses.


The front yard specimen tree is a Japanese Snowbell, Styrax japonicas, which they chose for its structure and spring flowers.

The front corner seating area was designed and landscaped by Jim Eby. It includes a rock wall, pea gravel path, Columbines (Aquilegia), yarrow (Achillea), and Antoinette Harrison’s memorial split-leaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum variant dissectum).

One driveway is lined with purple-flowering Catawba Crape Myrtle, ivy, and Black and Blue Salvia guaranitica. The other driveway stays wet much of the year and it is lined with Swamp Iris (Tough-leaf Iris tenax). At the end of the driveway is a gazebo with seating and a central fire pit.

If you love gardens you won’t want to miss this tour.

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