The Lewes Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all the numerous volunteers and members who helped with this year’s tour, our 23rd. The weather was very unusual for the garden tour - it was perfect! - sunny and pleasantly warm.

We are grateful to our event committee chaired by Carolyn Marshall. The chamber is indebted to the owners of this year’s tour gardens: Mac and Joanne McNaught, MaryAnn Etu, William Roeder and John Overton, Pamela Rankin, Drew McKay and Susan McElligott, Marna and Tom McDermott, and Marna and Tom Whittington. We’d also like to thank the Lewes in Bloom volunteers for showcasing their newest initiative, the Children’s Learning Garden in Stango Park.

Long before the flowers are in bloom, the hard-working veteran members of the garden tour committee begin the preparations. Carolyn Marshall began selecting the tour gardens within days of last year’s garden tour. Her committee members are Brenda Brady, Betty and Gary Grunder, Anne Schulze, Ted Becker and Jay Reamer.

We would like to thank the City of Lewes for allowing us to use Zwaanendael Park for the Garden Market vendors, Lou Papp from the Lewes Parks & Recreation Commission for his year-long volunteer efforts in beautifying Zwaanendael Park, the Lewes Street Department and the Lewes Police Department for their assistance on the day of the tour providing a safe walking environment for tour-goers and others visiting the garden market. The chamber is very appreciative of the time donated by artists painting in some of the gardens - Libby Zando and four members of the Cape Artists - Jean Bowers, Gerilyn Gaskill, Sonia Hunt and Ellen Serafini, who coordinated the Cape Artists’ participation, and fiber artist, Sarah Pavlik.

As previously mentioned, this event is fortunate to have enormous community-based volunteer support in addition to the event committee. More than 75 volunteers participated in numerous facets of the tour, including serving as greeters in the tour gardens, setting up and breaking down tables and chairs for the food tent, and van service from chamber members Beebe Medical Center, Irish Eyes Pub & Restaurant, Lewes Senior Center, Prudential Gallo and the Jolly Trolley and their drivers - Warren, Jack, Dennis, David, Sandy, J.J. and Jim. Thanks too to Turner Hastings of the Jolly Trolley for his expert advice!

We also are very grateful to the following Chamber members who provided additional support for the effort: Sign*A*Rama for updating the signs, Dean Design for program design, University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean & Environment for their tent, Casa Amici for the delicious food in the tent and The Inn at Canal Square for hosting the garden owners’ and committee thank you reception.

We had additional assistance selling the tickets in Rehoboth from Windsor’s Flowers and the Rehoboth Beach Museum and in Lewes from The Inn at Canal Square, The Stepping Stone, and Windsor’s Plant Outlet. Special thanks to Liz Geller, who has been volunteering this spring at the Lewes Visitor Center and spent many hours selling tickets for us on Friday and Saturday.

Betsy Reamer
executive director
Lewes Chamber of Commerce