Yes, in my backyard: Lewes homes open for garden tour

Spectacular spaces and outdoor oases were on display at the 34th annual Lewes Garden Tour June 21, sponsored by the Lewes Chamber of Commerce.

This year, there were 10 gardens open for the tour, including the Lewes Community Garden and Delaware Community Foundation grounds.

Marva and Jeff Heckert were proud to show off their amazing space at 15 DeVries Circle. Their yard has a creek with a foot bridge leading to a private wooded area.

“It’s always 20 degrees cooler back there,” Jeff said. He said his favorite little spot is the fish pond on their patio.

Rosemary Raptosh was a first-time garden tourer. She was checking out the garden belonging to Helen Waite and John Feliciani at 10 Henlopen Court.

“I’m looking forward to finding things I can take home to Pennsylvania that just might grow and enhance my garden there,” Raptosh said.

Waite is the garden manager at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. When she’s not tending to the parish grounds, she can be found planting flowers and vegetables at home.

“It’s the same problems – weeds, deadheading all the watering,” she said. “It’s been a lot of work getting [our garden] to look presentable, but it made us do things that we were slacking off on.”

The Lewes Community Garden on Park Road showed off its wide variety of flowers and vegetables, all tended to by volunteers. The garden started in 2019. It now has 68 garden beds, 44 active gardeners and 15 volunteers who don’t have beds, according to Dan Howard, a member of the garden’s build committee.

Cindy Porter, a master gardener, created the pollinator bed at the site.

“It is important that we use native cultivators. Once they are established, they are drought- and pest-resistant. They feed the population of bees and butterflies,” Porter said.

The backyard at 9 Drake Knoll is best described as a wide open space with several nooks for quiet reflection.

“My favorite part of the garden is probably facing the pond, because it’s cool, you have the sound of water, it’s shady and quiet,” said Dave John, the owner and gardener.

His yard was full of small accents that did not go unnoticed by Joyce Davis from Pennsylvania.

“I like the concrete pots, the little bird houses, little planters and mushrooms, little banners. It’s really cool,” she said.

George Farrah was set up out front to paint a portrait of the house and, later, the backyard. Farrah was among the artists from the Cape Artist Gallery who were stationed at most of the gardens, showcasing the art of painting alongside the art of planting.

Penny Huth is a Sussex County master gardener. She was stationed in the backyard belonging to Karen Kollias at 124 Kings Hwy. Huth said people had a lot of questions about what was growing.

“They want to know about the varieties of plants, particularly the vecchia maximus and the elderberry, because look at how beautiful that is in bloom,” she said.

The Delaware Community Foundation, in the former Zwaanendael Club building, was proud to present its garden at Third Street and Savannah Road. That garden is maintained by Lewes in Bloom, the keepers of 27 public gardens, planters and baskets around the city.

Zwaanendael Park was the location of the annual garden market, with many local vendors and organizations represented.