Participants will feel like they’re stepping between the pages of a color glossy gardening magazine when they take the Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association’s Spring Garden Tour on Saturday, April 14.

Four area homeowners will graciously open their gates to patrons, and guided tours will be given of Edisto Memorial Gardens. Tickets are now on sale for the fund-raiser.

DORA Executive Director Bernice Tribble said the Spring Garden Tour will help raise money to purchase property ideally suited for downtown parking. The tour is just one of several fund-raisers DORA sponsors.

“DORA took advantage of an opportunity about a year ago to purchase property... between the back doors of the 1100 block of Russell Street and Market Street facing Broughton,” Tribble said. “Proceeds from the Spring Garden Tour will be used to help pay for the property.”

DORA’s vision is for this area to be developed into an attractive, landscaped parking lot, Tribble said.

Visions of lush plants and relaxing landscapes have guided the gardeners and homeowners who will have their yards and gardens on the tour.

Arthur Evans will fascinate fellow gardeners with his collection of blue-ribbon container plants, backyard greenhouse, fish ponds and landscape plants. Exotic-specimen plants surround Evans’ patio behind his home on Meadowlark Street in Orangeburg. Evans has been exhibiting his plants at the Orangeburg County Fair and winning blue ribbons for more than 25 years.

Evans collects plants when he travels. He loves to talk to other gardeners and share information about growing and propagating plants.

The gardens of Jim and Karen Roquemore near Cameron are expansive and bright with the colors of spring. Native dogwoods, azaleas, lush green lawns and masses of perky pansies surround the main house. Brick pathways lead visitors by flowing fountains, babbling brooks and a mesmerizing pool, where a wall of water cascades downward into a placid pond with a white wooden footbridge.

The multitude of nooks and crannies on the Roquemores’ vast acreage allows plenty of room for a wide variety of plants for full sun, shade and in everything between. Large container plants soften pool-side and terrace areas.

“Willcreek” is the home of Charles and Karen Williams on Five Chop Road. Middlepen Creek runs through their 20-acre backyard, where water, statuary, gazebos and old brick come together to form a tranquil atmosphere.

“The gardens have been a natural progression over the last 32 years,” Williams said. “Our home being close to (highway) 301, the gardens allow an escape into a place that is tranquil and pleasing to the eyes.”

The meandering driveway that leads between tall pines to the home of Retta and Jim Guthrie gives visitors time to appreciate the native dogwoods that grow in the cool shade.

“We prize the native dogwoods and have worked very hard to preserve as many as possible,” Guthrie said.

The Guthries work together to continually add to and improve their landscape.

“Jimmy plans most of the additions, and I particularly enjoy working in the beds surrounding the house and the container gardens on the decks and patios,” Mrs. Guthrie said, adding that she often consults with Gail Bolt at Plant Depot.

Jay Hiers will be giving two tours of the Edisto Memorial Gardens at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Tours will start in the rose garden and will include a walk through the azalea area, along the boardwalk by the water wheel, Centennial Park and the Sensory Garden.

“Edisto Memorial Gardens is very unique in that 90 percent of the varieties are grown in our test gardens and display gardens prior to being available for sale to the public,” Hiers said.ˇ

Tickets for DORA’s Spring Garden Tour are $10 and are available at Automated Business Systems, Orangeburg City Hall, the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce, Palmetto Office Supply and the DORA Office at 152 Market Street in Orangeburg.

For further information, call Bernice Tribble at 803-531-6186.

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