It was sunny (but not too hot) with lots of people (but it didn’t feel too crowded) and loads of smiles and happy chatter as neighbors greeted those they knew and those they didn’t while enjoying the eye-candy of five typically private Beaumont-Wilshire gardens, replete with art offerings. Not a bad outcome for BWNA’s second Art & Garden Tour.
In addition to the community-building atmosphere that day in late July, with 233 tickets purchased — twice that of the first BWNA Art & Garden Tour last summer — there will be more money for donations to neighborhood schools than last year. The final accounting will be reported in a future newsletter.
A huge nod to the five garden hosts who put in a great deal of hard work — and in most cases money — getting their gardens “show ready” to make this fundraiser and FUN raiser a big success.
Want to be a host for next year’s Art & Garden Tour, scheduled for July 12, 2025?
If you can definitely commit to that date and want to inquire about being included, please email BWNA board member Patti Koehler at PatriceKoehler@gmail.com. And if interested, remember to take photos now, so we can showcase your gardens in our early-summer marketing efforts.
All photos by Susan Trabucco unless otherwise noted.
1. Tour attendees enjoy a corner of the garden of Betsy Ray and Thad Mepham.
2. Garden host Patrick Slabe, in black shirt, talks with visitors in the garden he shares with his wife, Layne, about the wildlife-attracting waterfall in this garden.
This year’s BWNA Art & Garden Tour Hosts — From left: Thad Mepham and Betsy Ray, Mary Jaron Kelley, Patrick Slabe, Dorothy Gustafson and Ian Harding, and Colleen Suzanne.
3. Garden host Ian Harding displays his artistic creations. Photo by co-garden host Dorothy Gustafson.
4. Garden host Thad Mepham, left, chats with tour attendees.
5. Whimsical pottery by artist Sharyn Smith for sale in the garden of Mary Jaron Kelley and Charles Kelley.
6. B-W resident Sue Collins spends a moment to appreciate the art work of Ronna Fujisawa in the garden of hosts Patrick and Layne Slabe.