Imagine driving out of the town of Loomis on King Road and turning onto a small driveway into a secret garden. The little road winds through a welcome greeting of blooming irises, by a grove of old oak trees, and past a small pond in the middle of a four-acre park.
You've arrived at Mary Ann Horton's Iris Gardens at Horton Farm - a sea of color during the months of April and May.
Horton's fields and gardens comprise the centerpiece of a 40-acre farm. Elisha Webb, great-grandfather of Ed Horton, settled on this property before 1861; Webb paid $10 to Placer County to squat on the land. In the 1870s, he homesteaded 240 acres with deeds signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Over the years family members sold land for various reasons, including to pay taxes.
The bungalow-style home on the property was built as a wedding gift for Ed Horton's grandmother. After being empty for a few years and overrun with blackberries, the home was remodeled in the early 1980s.
During the 1990s, Horton reclaimed some of the land from blackberries and weeds and started landscaping around the house.
The iris garden business, which started as a hobby, quickly got out of hand. Today there are more than 1,000 varieties of iris that bloom from late March through early June.
Iris flowers are particularly attractive to foothill residents; they are totally deer resistant and several iris varieties are rebloomers - they bloom on and off through the entire year.
Visitors to the garden select colors and varieties during the months of April and May; roots are dug up and orders are ready for pick-up in August.
Lavender is another star performer at the Horton Farm. With hundreds of lavender plants growing on the farm, visitors can pick a fistful for a bouquet or take home some of the aromatic plants.
And that's not all. Horton's son, Doug, has built a new barn for an Art Studio and Gallery. The sculpture and jewelry studio is full of art for the garden, home and body.
The gardens include picnic tables and plenty of green space for sharing time with family and friends.
The Iris Gardens at Horton Farm, 7440 King Road, Loomis, are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Monday or by appointment. Call (916) 652-4351 for directions or to schedule a club or group visit.
For more information, e-mail hortonirisgardens@pacbell.net.
