Ready to get out and enjoy spring? Modesto club’s garden tour returns
After being canceled last year by the coronavirus pandemic, the Modesto Garden Club’s Spring Garden Tour returns this weekend.
The tour of five homes, along with the club’s demonstration gardens, is set for Saturday, April 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The five homes all are on Modesto’s Magnolia Avenue, according to a garden club press release, and include the home of the late famed mountain climber Royal Robbins and his wife Liz.
Information on the tour locations was provided in the garden club release:
225 Magnolia — Built in the early 1920s by L.M. Morris, the current homeowner is a garden club member and avid gardener who has lived there for 40 years. Many plants have been chosen to foster birds, bees and butterflies. The alleyway behind the fence offers a display of wildflowers.
702 Magnolia — This is the home of Liz Robbins that she shared with husband Royal Robbins. A mass of ivy vines is featured in the yard that has been updated through the years. The back garden has a pool and spa. There is a new metal sculpture designed by Liz Robbins that incorporates some of her husband’s climbing gear.
708 Magnolia — Built in 1927, the Lear family moved here in 1972. A family hobby is tile collecting and tiles can be seen scattered about the garden. A collection of orchids was brought in 30 years ago from Laos and the tropical plants are protected by a misting system.
807 Magnolia — Completed in 1930, this home features wine-colored foliage of maples and pots and a brick exterior. A fire pit in the back yard sits next to an herb and vegetable garden. There is a pool in back with a “Baja shelf” tanning ledge and a pergola.
1025 Magnolia — Built in 1937, this Mediterranean home’s original lot was open with no fences or walls. The property now has an enclosed back yard with a Tuscan pool, dogwoods, hydrangeas, roses and herb garden. There also is statuary and an outdoor kitchen and dining area.
The garden club’s office at 622 14th St. features eight demonstration gardens for viewing and hands-on activities.
Tickets for the tour are $25 and benefit the Modesto Garden Club’s community projects, including six annual $1,500 scholarships to local youth; educational school gardens, planting and maintaining downtown Modesto pots and flower clock, the Virginia Corridor Memorial Rose Garden and more.
For ticket purchase locations or to buy online, see modestogardenclub.org. Tickets also will be available Saturday at any of the tour locations.
This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
