Carroll County: ‘A Walk in the Garden’ All Weekend Long

Take in the sights, wine tasting, antiquing and festivities from the Mississippi River to Straddle Creek.

Mark your calendars for the first annual Carroll County Garden Walk, June 24-26, and prepare to enjoy the creative efforts of 18 gardeners in the Savanna and Lanark areas. While traveling between gardens, plan to browse the many garden and bird related items offered at participating businesses in Lanark, Savanna, Mount Carroll and Sabula.

Take in additional points of interest in each community, like Old Settlers Days in Lanark, a Friday night presentation at Savanna’s Historical Museum on both shade gardening and birding, and Saturday morning’s Farmers Market in Mt. Carroll, and your “Walk in the Garden” will become a weekend adventure.

Enjoy the creative efforts of 18 green thumb gardeners during the Carroll County Garden Walk June 24-26, including (top) Bill and LeighAnne Piper’s at 121 E. Claremont in Lanark, (above rt.) Ronald and Mildred Sturtz, 23879 Straddle Creek Rd. in rural Lanark, and (left) the Lazos Garden in Savanna.

This co-op between communities is not a first. The communities of Savanna, Mount Carroll and Lanark have worked successfully for two years in coordinating a Holiday Shop Hop through the towns. As organizers met early this year to plan the third annual holiday hop, Savanna master gardener, Connie Zink, shared her vision of a cooperative effort for a county wide garden walk. Connie has organized the Savanna walk for four years and invited other communities to join this year in an expanded effort.

The adventure begins with 12 gardens in Savanna, starting with the Zink garden at 1723 Portland Avenue where you can purchase your garden walk ticket. Enjoy artisans in the Zink garden as well as the neighboring garden of Elmer Meyers before continuing to 10 more Savanna area gardens that feature ponds, memorial gardens, antiques in the landscape, bird watching, garden model trains on over 1000 feet of track, fountains and a pergola. Visit unique shops in Savanna and Sabula; then enjoy lunch or a sweet treat at Sweet Life Bakery downtown or cool off with ice cream at the Palisades Park Mini Mart before moving on to Mount Carroll for more shops. There you will find antiques, garden art, a wine store, a tea room garden, quilts, birdhouses, automobilia and more.

Continue on to Lanark for the remaining 6 gardens which will include a landscape nursery and a carriage house shop. You’ll also want to visit the first annual “End of the Road” antique and cool old stuff show at 401 N. Rochester in Lanark. Sponsored by Randy Welp’s Antiquities & Uniquities, vendors will be selling furniture, primitive crafts, collectibles, hand-made items, and mercantile.

Then visit a winery and a specialty store with all kinds of garden décor. While in Lanark, take in the many happenings at Old Settlers Day in the City Park as the town celebrates its 150th birthday!

A garden walk ticket for $8.00 begins your weekend adventure. Tickets are available in advance at Special Touch in Lanark, and the weekend of the walk can be purchased at the Zink garden in Savanna or the Collins garden at 407 East Franklin in Lanark. Your ticket is good all weekend long at all 18 gardens. All gardens are open Saturday and Sunday. Six are available to preview Friday along with the many shops joining in the garden walk adventure.

There are many free events along the way. In addition to sights of the mighty Mississippi at Palisades Park in Savanna and free admission to Lanark’s Old Settlers Days, there is a free wine tasting at Driftless Area Stillroom in the Shops at Glenview at 116 Market Street, Mt. Carroll, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on Saturday, June 26. The Sweitzer garden and nursery on the Lanark end of the walk is hosting a drawing all weekend long for 3 lucky winners to receive a Miss Kim Korean lilac bush.

At Picket Fence, a carriage house shop at the Collins garden in Lanark, the cost of your garden walk ticket will be reimbursed with a $40.00 purchase. Also in conjunction with the garden walk, the Savanna Museum and Cultural Center presents a dinner and program on Friday evening, June 24, at 5:30 pm with a shade garden presentation by Bud LeFevre from Distinctive Gardens in Dixon and a birding talk by Savanna native and PBS host Michele Beschen.

For more information on “A Walk in the Garden”, go to www.sumriver.org or call Connie Zink at 815-565-0024 or Lynn Collins at 815-493-6033. If you are interested in being on the county garden walk next year, call one of these numbers.