August Garden Tour at the Muse Residence

One of the great perks of being a member of the CGC is the summer schedule of garden tours. The August tour at the home of Reed and Debbie Muse is perfect example of a pleasant evening spent admiring the hard work and skill of fellow gardeners.

The Muses have for about 8 years now been planting, tending and nurturing their prize winning Dahlias, which is what took us out to their place on Niner Road the last Wednesday of August.

Debbie had had surgery the day before so she was limited in what she could do, but Reed, who is equal partner in this venture, gladly showed us the huge variety of Dahlias, and with clippers in hand, cut many bouquets to give to anyone he heard “ooh” and “ah” over them.

What intrigued me the most was the system they had developed to keep the tall, heavy plants upright. This consisted of a grid of large- holed square mesh stretched flat, rather like a tennis net turned on its side. These nets were held firmly in place by tall metal stakes at the ends of the rows, and at intervals along the netting.

Net supports

The Dahlias varied in size, color and shape, from large to button size, and from deep purple or magenta to creamy white, with yellows, pinks, reds and oranges in between; and from daisy type to big pom-poms to more open mum-like blooms.

After all that eye candy we spent a very relaxing time enjoying cooling drinks and some cookies. The Muses provided lawn chairs for seating and no one seemed to be in a hurry to leave such a lovely setting or such enjoyable company. Gardeners love to talk and there was plenty to discuss, as the Muses also raise bees and sell their honey under the catchy name “BeMused Honey”.

This was the last garden tour until next summer. If you are like me, you no doubt agree that spending time walking through someone’s garden with fellow gardeners is a most pleasant way to spend an evening, and can hardly wait for the next garden tour in June of July.

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Additional photos–click to enlarge for slide show