Art in the Garden back for 2022

Art in the Garden Tour 2022, a Havre Art Association sponsored event, will have artwork from local artists displayed among three backyards, in the Havre community, that are works of art themselves, and the public is invited to take the tour Sunday from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

Art Association member and event co-organizer Ginnie Streeper said the artists and homeowners are excited to be holding the event again this year, and she feels that the yards really demonstrate a variety of what people can do with whatever space they have available.

Artists Bonnie Mosbrucker and Linda Warneke will have works on display in the yard of Dave and Sue Widdekind at 1624 Pine Dr. The Widdekinds, who have lived in this house for more than 30 years, have a large yard with potted plant displays, immaculately trimmed privacy shrubs and trees, flowering vines and lush perennials, and the backyard is accented with a waterfall.

Their lawn and flowers decorate all four sides of their home as well as their alleyway.

Sue Widdekind said, as the other homeowners did, too, they had a lot of winter kill in their perennials, and everything is growing behind schedule but really took off when the rains came in June.

She said she and her husband have been working for two months to get their yard to what they consider show-worthy, but she said, the day of the tour she'll probably have pockets full of stray fallen leaves and dead-headed flowers because she has been continually pecking at the plants to keep everything tidy.

Widdekind joked that people are welcome to help deadhead the flowers as they go through.

"I'll give them a little bucket as a party gift," she said.

Kris Martens and a variety of other artists will be displaying their art in Don and Cheryl Wagner's yard at 21 Curve Dr.

With only a small side yard to work with, Cheryl Wagner said, she took out some scraggly shrubs when they moved there and planted flowers and decorative plants in the beds. The focal point, though is their garden shed, which she said a previous owner made very decorative with nice siding and a railing, and the affect is a homey space.

Wagner said she plants whatever she thinks looks pretty and will fit her space and as long as the plants keep growing they get to stay.

Streeper and Marie Toldness will be at Dr. Chip Smith and Carmen Rangel's yard at 807 Second Ave.

With its position at the top of the hill, the home has an unexpected amount privacy and a green vista of tree tops past the yard fence.

The gardens at the front of the house and in the backyard are a riot of color and greenery that include both red and hot pink bee balm that she hopes will still be in full bloom over the weekend and a banana tree that she brings inside during the cold months.

Rangel said they have been in the house four years, and they put in all the gardens and the lawn and are working on constructing a sunroom/greenhouse.

Her rock-lined beds with curved walking paths between are teeming with flowers, decorative plants and vegetables.

Refreshments for guests will be served at Rangel and Smith's home.

The artists will be on hand to greet guests and talk about their artwork, and homeowners or someone from Bullhook Blossoms Garden Club will be on hand to talk about the plants and features of the yards, as well.

Tickets, which are $5 for people aged 12 and older, will be on sale at each of the locations. Children younger than 12 will get in free, but each ticket will get the tour guest's name entered in a drawing for a door prize of one of the pieces of artwork on display that day. The drawing will be held immediately after the Garden Tour ends.