Six homeowners south of Danville invite the public to stroll through their unique and beautiful gardens next weekend. The Master Gardeners’ Walk, sponsored by the Vermilion County Unit of the University of Illinois Extension Service, will be from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

One of the featured gardens is a blooming showplace tucked away in the country, featuring just about every perennial imaginable. The homeowners, Phil and Pat Sollars, have developed their 3½-acre expanse into a gardener’s paradise. They moved to this location at 18814 E. 1250 N. Road more than 32 years ago.

“When we moved here to the farm, there were only a couple of peony bushes planted,” Pat Sollars said. “With my love of gardening, we started right in with one landscaping project after another.”

Through the years, Phil has been her right-hand man, building greenhouses, and flats for seedlings, and helping in the garden when he wasn’t working full time at NACCO.

Sollars is a life-long gardener, and she has been a dedicated U of I Extension master gardener for the past 10 years.

She has been “gifted” with many of her perennials, but she also starts new perennials and annuals from seeds. “I had so many flats of seedlings all stacked up in my dining room last winter,” she said with a laugh.

Sollars hosts a big plant sale of her own every year. She contributes to the annual master gardeners’ plant sale, and also donates plantings to her church.

“I love gardening so much because you never stop learning about plants,” Sollars said. She especially enjoys the process of planting and weeding, and spends about five to six hours each day in her garden.

“I’m sure that’s more time than most people want to devote to their garden,” she said.

The Sollarses participated in the garden walk in 2001, but have added many plants and flowers since then. They now have walking paths that wind through some of their five expansive flower beds. There’s a small pond, sitting benches, a very large vegetable garden, numerous hummingbird feeders, and a faithful garden cat. Antique farm implements are strategically placed throughout the yard, giving the place a special country charm.

The Sollarses are fortunate to have a nice mix of sun and shade in their yard, which enables them to grow hundreds of varieties of plants and flowers. Some of their perennials include Shasta daisies, cone flowers, celosia, blue fescue, coral bells, hollyhocks, campanulas, Missouri primroses, gaillardia, phlox, Batista, bee balm, yarrow, lilies, hydrangeas, salvia, golden tansy, and hyssop.

More than 100 varieties of hostas and ferns thrive in the shaded areas. Sollars also has planted a variety of annuals that add splashes of color to all five flower beds.

“I began my interest in gardening when I was only 9 years old,” Sollars said. “At that time we lived with my grandmother, Cara Nier, and I loved helping her in the garden with planting and weeding.”

Sollars still treasures some of her grandmother’s and aunt’s perennials that she has in her garden today.

Mary Alice Stonecipher, co-chair of the garden walk, said, “As master gardeners, our goal is to help educate people about plants and flowers, as well as show them some of the most beautiful gardens in the southern part of Vermilion County.”

Other co-chairs of the walk are Adrienne Dahncke and Claudia DeWitt.

Other gardens on the walk include:

-- Veronica Stephen, 601 S. Seminary St. in Georgetown

Designed for year-round beauty and interest, Stephen’s gardens are abundant with different textures and shades of evergreens that are accented by dwarf crabapples, birches and other varieties of trees. Curved, raised planting beds are filled with perennials, shrubs, and other plants in hues of burgundy, chartreuse, purple and pink. In the spring, flowering bulbs add splashes of coral, red, purple and yellow colors. The fall and winter plants provide their own special colors and textures to the decorative landscape.

Stephen has numerous bird feeders and birdbaths, making her garden a habitat for a variety of birds and wildlife.

-- Gary and Theresa Delhaye, 119 Mullen St. in Westville

This property looked like a jungle when the Delhayes purchased it 10 years ago. With the help of Gary’s father, George Delhaye, and other family members, the gardens have become a showplace, with dogwoods, redbuds, lilacs, and fruit trees, each showing off its colors and scents during the appropriate seasons. Two ponds, several sitting areas, and a variety of perennials and annuals add interest to the landscape.

The Delhayes dream of developing more landscaping projects on their property in the future.

-- Mike and Brenda Larson, 1 Larson Lane in Westville

When the Larsons, who are both master gardeners, built their home more than 30 years ago, they retained many of the trees from the native forest. They have planted about 100 varieties of hostas, which grace the peaceful, shaded garden areas. In addition to ornamental grasses and daylilies, there are many water-loving plants in and surrounding the large, ornamental pond that also features Mo Mo the koi. The Larsons have worked hard to make their gardens a visual delight for visitors.

-- Rhonda Rice, 204 Whittier St. in Georgetown

Rhonda Rice and her daughter, Karen, have created a beautiful yard that is animal-friendly and attractive to birds and butterflies. Maggie the dog and all the plantings co-exist peacefully. Their home features a pond with goldfish and shubunkins, a charming bridge surrounded by borders of concord grapes for the cardinals, and beds of perennials and ornamental grasses. There are also several Blue Bird Rose of Sharon bushes, delicate creeping violets, and hardy cacti. This lovely and serviceable yard was landscaped especially for the family and the family dog.

-- James and Linda Brown, 320 McKinley St. in Westville

The Browns’ home features an entry garden with shrubbery, plants and the new knockout tea rose. Other front-area plantings include shrubs and ferns that are encased by a brick border. The fenced-in back yard features a large, fully landscaped koi pond. A secluded garden nook includes shrubs, a mugo pine, a juniper, a Siberian pea tree, and a sitting area. From the vantage point of their sunroom, the Browns enjoy the landscaped beauty of their backyard, including the pond, a willow bush, an oak leaf hydrangea, and a royal empress tree.



FYI

Purchase advance tickets for the Master Gardeners’ Garden Walk on Sunday at local garden centers and at Blooms and Bows florist in Westville; at the Extension office at 12190 U.S. Route 150 in Oakwood, and from master gardeners. Tickets can be purchased the day of the walk for $7 at Big R South in Danville until 1:30 p.m., and at any of the participating homes. For more information call 442-8615.