Looking for an opportunity to beat the heat of the dog days of summer? How about Lake Tahoe? Here's a suggestion.
For a number of years, my wife and I have enjoyed the Lake of the Sky Garden Club garden tours. The 19th annual tour at Lake Tahoe will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 28 at Big Springs at Northstar, off Highway 267 between Kings Beach and Truckee.
This is the first time the tour will be at Northstar. In the past few years, the tour has been in Truckee, West Shore, North Shore and the very memorable tour in the Incline Village area in Nevada.
There are 10 gardens on the tour this year featuring native and perennial beds, water gardens and beautiful lawns.
I'm always interested in seeing what plants are used in the gardens, and remember that there is a short growing season at the lake.
Surprisingly, many of the plants we use in our gardens in the foothills will grow at the lake.
What is different this year from years past is Northstar is providing three buses for transport from one garden to the next, so there will be a continuous shuttle. No driving from garden to garden.
The buses will start from ski parking area M on Big Springs Drive. Look for the Lake of the Sky sandwich boards along the way.
"We have some really great gardens. We have three that are just over the top," club president Emily Hatch said. "One garden has a sod roof planted with flowers above the garage. Another garden is up at the summit with spectacular views. They have two water features - a regular stream in the front and the owner has a sluice-box type water feature in the back."
The garden tour at the lake in the past has always had interesting water features.
"Then there is a hillside mansion on three lots, and they are putting in a water feature and a bocce ball court that they hope will be ready by Saturday," Hatch said. "Everything bloomed quickly this year because of the hot spell that we had early in July.
Northstar didn't do any landscaping, just the native vegetation.
A couple of the gardens have combined ornamental plants with the native vegetation. It is kind of an interesting approach for up here.
" We like to keep our native vegetation," Hatch said.
This year Carol Merjil is the garden tour chairwoman.
Lake of the Sky Garden Club is a non-profit organization.
The club's goals are to promote an interest in gardening, with particular emphasis on the problems at high altitude, and to initiate and participate in beautification and developmental gardening projects in the North Lake Tahoe region.
Proceeds from the garden tour are returned to the community by way of student scholarships, community education, local beautification projects and environmental projects.
Tickets are $20 per person and may be purchased at the Villager Nursery in Truckee or at the first garden on the tour.
Ten beautiful gardens at Lake Tahoe. Great way to stay cool.
Saul Wiseman can be reached at swiseman368@sbcglobal.net.