Five Tracy gardeners proudly showed off their green thumbs at last week’s Tracy Area Gardens and Quilts Tour
By Per Peterson
Nicole Larson has her late mother, Mary, to thank for her gardening passion, and last Wednesday, she was able to put on display everything she learned.
Larson’s spacious gardens were part of this year’s Tracy Area Gardens and Quilts Tour, put on by the St. Mary’s CCW with financial support from Catholic United Financial.
“You always hear about the garden tour, and when they asked me I was very honored,” Larson said between visiting with guests during last week’s tour. “I just think of the other people who are in it and I’m like, “Am I really at that same level?’ I know Mom’s looking down and loving it, because she and I spent hours and hours traveling and working with our flowers.”
The popular event was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, and the year before it included areas near Garvin and Lake Shetek. This year, however, it was all Tracy, and it drew 290 visitors, considerably higher than in 2019.
“Our guest numbers were up, everybody was happy,” said one of the organizers, Elise Lanoue. “The Good Lord provided us with perfect weather — it couldn’t have been more beautiful. Had it been as hot as it had been, we wouldn’t have had near the numbers we had. It was a marvelous day, we couldn’t be any more thankful. This is what we needed after not being able to do anything last year.”
This year’s tour included the Tracy homes of Lisa and Terry Schaar, Marj and Steve Ostgaard, Sis and Joe Beierman, Connie and Wayne Anderson, and Nicole and Dru Larson. Quilts featured included those crafted by Connie Anderson, Jim and Julie Bottelberghe, Sis Beierman, Merrilee Rogotzke, Sharon Lenertz and Janna Milbradt.
One area Larson encouraged people to check out is the flag pole in the front of their home. After seeing the size of the majestic flag pole, she knew it needed to be accompanied by some serious landscaping. She worked with Kurt Hannasch to design the landscaping and has worked over the years adding perennials.
When choosing perennials, Larson said she tries to look for bloom time and coordinating them so there is always something blooming. She also likes to add color by adding annuals in between and loves the flag area, especially on a calm night with the flag all lit up.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.