BETHLEHEM — The Bethlehem Garden Club is hosting its 23rd Annual Garden Tour from 4 to 8 p.m. and a brand-new Botanical Boutique from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12.
Tickets are $15, rain or shine, and available only on the day of the events. They will be sold at the Delmar Presbyterian Church — on 585 Delaware Ave. at the corner of Delaware and Cherry avenues — and the parking lot of, albeit not inside, the Slingerlands Price Chopper Plaza, on 1395 New Scotland Road. The ticket comes in the form of a brochure that contains a map, driving directions, information about each garden, and local same-day restaurant discounts.
The Garden Tour is meant to be a self-guided driving tour so ticket holders would not necessarily need to exit their vehicles to tour each garden across town. At each garden, its owner and a number of Bethlehem Garden Club members are there to give more information or answer queries.
Bethlehem Garden Club president Dodie Seagle said the locations for the gardens “are the best kept secret that even many Garden Club members don’t know them either.” She added that the gardens had been chosen by a committee last summer and they vary in size, shape, color, the need for sun or shade, and in terms of features, like being hilly, having rocky features, being accompanied by decorative pools, and more.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to learn about the beauty of the gardens and it’s an overall benefit to Bethlehem,” she said. “It would help improve beautification and environmental education for all ages. It also gives a sense of community as people love getting together and we try to promote Bethlehem as a great community.”
Accompanying the Garden Tour is the Botanical Boutique which is a new event this year for the organization. People are able to buy hand-decorated pots and crafts, while supplies last, which can be used for their own gardens, for instance. This event will happen at the Delmar Presbyterian Church and would also feature bird feeders and candle holders. “It would all be also great for gardening with your children and grandchildren,” Seagle said.
Seagle added that all proceeds from the Garden Tour and the Botanical Boutique will support four local community gardens, to continue giving out scholarships for students who are interested in pursuing environmental studies, and help attract outside speakers into the local area, whom she said may sometimes have fees.
“We want to continue creating a sense of community, beautification, a sense of peace and enjoyment in the outdoors, and offer people more knowledge about gardens and gardening, and so on,” Seagle concluded. “The Garden Club is open to all people who want to learn all aspects of gardening and share them with the community too.”
For more information, visit the Bethlehem Garden Club’s website at www.bethlehemgardenclubny.org or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BethlehemGardenClub.
