Matthew Moore: Each month we hear from members of the Washington County Master Gardeners. Mariette Spidel and Laura Underwood from the Master Gardeners joined me earlier this month in the Bruce and Ann Applegate News Studio Two to discuss their upcoming fundraising event, the 2026 Garden Gate Tour.
Laura says the roots of this event go back to the Flowering Garden Club.
Laura Underwood: There were some master gardeners that were part of that. And whenever the Flowering Garden Club decided not to do that anymore, they came to the Washington County Master Gardeners: hey, would you be interested in having this? And as a fundraiser for the master gardeners, for the community — to be able to provide money for our projects, provide money for educational events for our community. And Mariette can speak to that because she helped with a big composting event for the community. And so that's where it came from. And it's grown. Last year was our largest one. It was exceptional. All of them have been exceptional.
And it's a group of master gardeners who say, I want to be on this committee. Oh gosh, a lot of volunteer hours go into this. So it's for the community. We want the community to come out and see what other gardeners are doing. It's not just master gardeners that are providing their gardens — it's a lot of the public that's providing their gardens out of the goodness of their heart. And we also provide master gardeners to come out and volunteer in their gardens to help them get ready. So it's a great event.
Moore: Mariette, your garden was previously one of the gardens that was highlighted. You said right before we hit record that you actually pushed back for a while, saying you weren't sure that you wanted to do it. Why?
Mariette Spidel: So part of the Garden Gate Tour, they have people that go out and kind of scope out gardens and see if they're — if they could be fitting. You stole my word. So anyway, if they meet the criteria and the quality of the plants, etc. So the first year that I was approached, I said, no, there are still other things that I want to do and I'm not personally ready. And so I spent a whole year and a half, almost two years, getting it to my perfection. And it still wasn't, but it was. So it takes some time for the owner. You're working all year long, even in the winter.
Moore: And these are gardens that are gorgeous, they look great. But as you just said, we're also looking at gardens like your son's garden, right — that was one that was pretty young.
Underwood: He had just moved into this 1957 home. The landscaping is going to be about nine months old by the time of the Garden Gate Tour. And that's a small picture of what a garden can be. You're not going to see things full size, you're not going to see things maybe budding like they could. But there's a plan, and there's going to be before-and-after pictures, which I think is exciting.
Spidel: And it's going to be a great example of giving plants the space that they need. In the urge to show off his home and the landscape for such a tour, for 300-plus people that come, the most exciting part is they've resisted. They're planting things, as Caleb said, to the tag of how large is it going to get, how tall is it going to get. And again, a lot of shade challenges in this garden. So it's a great place to come in and talk to us and see what's been done. And having the garden on the tour — the great thing is the year I was in the tour, I had people lined up to talk to me about different plants. There's an opportunity to talk to the homeowners as well, which is really nice.
Spidel and Underwood: And why you selected that for that spot, and maybe what you put there that didn't work. Because we all have those. Just because we're a master gardener does not mean that we don't make mistakes. I've moved plants three and four times, and finally the fourth time it's settled. And I was like, that's right. But every time you move a plant, it does set it back a year in its development. So you have to know that.
Moore: So let's talk logistics. What can people expect when they sign up and get their ticket to do the tour?
Underwood: A full day, rain or shine. We go rain or shine — and just wonderful gardens. We have seven private gardens and the extension office's sanctioned project, which is the garden around the extension office. They've just put in a new rose garden and have done a lot of redo of that extension office. You've got the seven private gardens — we've got one just west of the extension office, four in the historic district and two in Wilson Park. It's really going to be a great day. And then inside the extension office we have bathrooms, which is key. And all kinds of education that the extension office themselves are putting on.
Moore: Mariette, when you look at years past and you look at the lineup you have this year, what sticks out to you as a differentiator for someone who says, I've done the Garden Gate Tour a lot — what makes you say, OK, I really do need to come this year?
Spidel: I can say this — as long as I've been a master gardener and Garden Gate has been going on, the project looks at unique locations. We've gone down to Elkins, we've come out to Huntsville where I live. And now this year with the historic areas, we have not done that before. So I really feel like these locations are unique. I have talked to people who have been coming, even when it was the Flower and Garden Club, for 15 or more years. Some of these people live in Missouri and come down here every year. For someone to come that many years tells you that you're never going to see repetition. Different variety of gardens, people and creativity. I go for the inspiration. I've gotten so many inspirational ideas for my garden, things I wanted to implement. You know, take what you need and leave the rest. There's really something for everyone.
Underwood: And I think Mariette really spoke to this — the location, being able to have four gardens in the historic district that you can park and walk around the neighborhood to. Some are small, some you see from the front and think, well, what's back there? Gardens that you always wonder what's back there — you get to see what's back there.
Moore: And it also reinforces this idea that you may be in an urban space, but that doesn't mean it has to be just concrete and parking lots everywhere.
Underwood:You're going to see such incredible imagination of what can be in your backyard or in the front yard.
Moore: I always think about how creativity best shows its output when there are parameters, when there are limitations on what you can and cannot do. And I imagine with these gardens in the historic district, there are some parameters around how far out you can do these sorts of things, or elements of shade — and it results in some really gorgeous and creative gardens.
Spidel: That is true. And we want to be respectful of what we could bring that's native to the area. You're going to have the best result when you bring some of what you know to be true to our soil and what you know to be true for our natives and pollinators, and then bring that level of creativity. And I mean, gosh, we see fun things — like last year, the Mayo Hill Garden. Beautiful. Just a beautiful architectural ball that she wound with barbed wire. She said she used about 10 pairs of gloves to make it. Or the tree that had died that was painted blue. You just see some really cool, fun, great art. And you'll see some of that.
Underwood: Not to that extent that the Mayo Hill Garden had. But I will tell you that one of the gardens in the historic district — when you walk through the little white gate into the backyard, you feel like you're in Paris. They travel there a lot. They've got art, they've got the way they've done their landscaping. It's really special.
Another thing that's going to be a little bit different with this Garden Gate Tour is that at the extension office, all the education — and they're going to be doing some hands-on education outside in the parking lot with ticket holders that want to participate. And I think they're drawing for some big things, too.
Moore: If people want to buy tickets and find out more about the tour, where should people go?
Underwood: You can go to our website and also follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It is June 6, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Tickets will also be sold the Thursday and Friday before the Garden Gate Tour at the extension office, as well as the day of at the extension office — which is really a great location because one garden is just a little west, and Wilson Park is just around the corner, and the historic district is just around the corner from that.
Moore: Mariette, Laura, thank you as always for being here.
Spidel/Underwood: Thank you so much, Matthew. Appreciate you.
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