2025 Members Only Garden Tour
We have a full day of Garden Tours on Sunday, September 7th 10-2pm.
Please join us. To learn more details please see the attached PDF.
Si
7691 Ellen’s Way, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Welcome to our garden! My name is Si and my husband is Chris. We moved here in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, and started our gardening efforts in 2021. The previous owners built the house on farmland in the 80s and left the landscape largely untouched, giving us a wonderful blank canvas. I tend to the flowers and perennials near the house, while Chris takes the lead in the orchard. Here are some areas of the garden you may want to see: Orchard - Fruit trees (cherry, apple, pawpaw, nectarines, peaches) and berries (raspberry, june, elderberry, jostaberry, honeyberry). The serviceberries are underplanted with daffodils and make a wonderful display in spring. Main perennial beds - Anchored by the large birch tree, we sheetmulched in multiple consecutive years to create the 3 large beds. Roses, irises, and peonies are the highlights in the spring, while heliopsis, liatris, and hydrangeas take over the spotlight in the fall. Supporting shrubs are ninebark, dogwoods, and elderberries. Scattered around the beds are also spring bulbs, mostly daffodils, crocus, and galanthus. Many of the things are starting to wind down in the fall but you may still catch a few blooms here and there. In-ground dahlia bed and cutting garden - We salvaged an old smokebush from a friend and created the garden at one end of the dahlia bed. The rest of the bed is dedicated to dahlias which need to be dug up at the end of each season and replanted in the spring. You’ll find around 100+ varieties and 150+ dahlia plants in the garden here and the cutting garden. The cutting garden, as the name suggests, is dedicated to cut flowers. At this point in the season, it is mostly dahlias. But I usually grow tulips, ranunculus, and anemones early in the spring. This transitions to bachelors button, larkspur, bupleurum, stock, cosmos, zinnias, snapdragons, lisianthus, and many other annuals. plants. Shade Gardens – We have two main shade areas, the hosta garden under the maple in the front, and the side garden on the east side of the house. The hosta garden features a variety of hostas with varying sizes. The side garden is a work in progress (depending on my success this summer, I might still be expanding it in September during the garden walk). It’s under large established pine trees and gets morning shade and afternoon sun, so it can be a challenging environment to thrive. This garden includes many hostas, hydrangeas, hellebores, heucheras, and other shade-loving Path through the woods and Frains Lake - A trail starts at the driveway and leads to Frains Lake. You're welcome to walk, but be cautious of uneven ground and poison ivy. Once farmland, the area has grown wild since the 1980s and now features native trees like redbud, dogwood, and oaks, though invasive species such as buckthorn and honeysuckle remain a challenge. The wetland by Frains Lake is well preserved, with many native plants compared to other Huron River watershed wetlands.
Tom
6815 Serenity Drive, Dexter, Michigan 48130
Tucked into a quiet Michigan backyard, my hobby gardens are a vibrant blend of beauty and practicality; part perennial display, part vegetable garden, and all heart. A curved path guides visitors past blooms for every season, with annuals tucked in like little surprises among steadfast perennials. At the center stands my fenced, octagonal vegetable garden—simple and functional—its inner perimeter filled with garden vegetables and the outer perimeter with more than 50 vibrant varieties of dahlias . This colorful dahlia outer ring transforms the inner veggie plot into a floral stage, where dinnerplate blooms and delicate pompons create a frame to show off kale, ripening tomatoes, and lunchbox peppers. It’s a space any gardener can recreate—unpretentious, productive, and deeply joyful. My journey into flower gardening truly took root during the quiet days of Covid, when morning coffee shared with hummingbirds inspired me to plant more, grow more, and share more. Now, I invite fellow dahlia enthusiasts to wander through, see how beauty and utility can thrive side by side, and maybe leave with an idea or two for their own patch of paradise. 6815 Serenity Drive, Dexter, Michigan 48130. One mile west of the North Territorial Mast intersection in Dexter. Last house on the right side of Serenity Drive.
Nivea
4303 Center Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, 48108
I am Nivea, and I tend a small backyard garden dedicated mostly to dahlias. It’s still a work in progress, but in a few years, I hope to bring my vision to life. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been captivated by the beauty of dahlia blooms. Like many of you, I began with just a handful—three years ago, in my case—and now my garden is home to more than 800 dahlias. They have a way of pulling us into their enchanting world. My favorites are the formal decorative and ball varieties, though lately I’ve been adding several waterlily types to my collection. I’m excited to connect with all of you and share our mutual love for these stunning flowers.
Looking forward to seeing you in the Gardens!
Sharon Stroh
Please join us. To learn more details please see the attached PDF.
Si
7691 Ellen’s Way, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Welcome to our garden! My name is Si and my husband is Chris. We moved here in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, and started our gardening efforts in 2021. The previous owners built the house on farmland in the 80s and left the landscape largely untouched, giving us a wonderful blank canvas. I tend to the flowers and perennials near the house, while Chris takes the lead in the orchard. Here are some areas of the garden you may want to see: Orchard - Fruit trees (cherry, apple, pawpaw, nectarines, peaches) and berries (raspberry, june, elderberry, jostaberry, honeyberry). The serviceberries are underplanted with daffodils and make a wonderful display in spring. Main perennial beds - Anchored by the large birch tree, we sheetmulched in multiple consecutive years to create the 3 large beds. Roses, irises, and peonies are the highlights in the spring, while heliopsis, liatris, and hydrangeas take over the spotlight in the fall. Supporting shrubs are ninebark, dogwoods, and elderberries. Scattered around the beds are also spring bulbs, mostly daffodils, crocus, and galanthus. Many of the things are starting to wind down in the fall but you may still catch a few blooms here and there. In-ground dahlia bed and cutting garden - We salvaged an old smokebush from a friend and created the garden at one end of the dahlia bed. The rest of the bed is dedicated to dahlias which need to be dug up at the end of each season and replanted in the spring. You’ll find around 100+ varieties and 150+ dahlia plants in the garden here and the cutting garden. The cutting garden, as the name suggests, is dedicated to cut flowers. At this point in the season, it is mostly dahlias. But I usually grow tulips, ranunculus, and anemones early in the spring. This transitions to bachelors button, larkspur, bupleurum, stock, cosmos, zinnias, snapdragons, lisianthus, and many other annuals. plants. Shade Gardens – We have two main shade areas, the hosta garden under the maple in the front, and the side garden on the east side of the house. The hosta garden features a variety of hostas with varying sizes. The side garden is a work in progress (depending on my success this summer, I might still be expanding it in September during the garden walk). It’s under large established pine trees and gets morning shade and afternoon sun, so it can be a challenging environment to thrive. This garden includes many hostas, hydrangeas, hellebores, heucheras, and other shade-loving Path through the woods and Frains Lake - A trail starts at the driveway and leads to Frains Lake. You're welcome to walk, but be cautious of uneven ground and poison ivy. Once farmland, the area has grown wild since the 1980s and now features native trees like redbud, dogwood, and oaks, though invasive species such as buckthorn and honeysuckle remain a challenge. The wetland by Frains Lake is well preserved, with many native plants compared to other Huron River watershed wetlands.
Tom
6815 Serenity Drive, Dexter, Michigan 48130
Tucked into a quiet Michigan backyard, my hobby gardens are a vibrant blend of beauty and practicality; part perennial display, part vegetable garden, and all heart. A curved path guides visitors past blooms for every season, with annuals tucked in like little surprises among steadfast perennials. At the center stands my fenced, octagonal vegetable garden—simple and functional—its inner perimeter filled with garden vegetables and the outer perimeter with more than 50 vibrant varieties of dahlias . This colorful dahlia outer ring transforms the inner veggie plot into a floral stage, where dinnerplate blooms and delicate pompons create a frame to show off kale, ripening tomatoes, and lunchbox peppers. It’s a space any gardener can recreate—unpretentious, productive, and deeply joyful. My journey into flower gardening truly took root during the quiet days of Covid, when morning coffee shared with hummingbirds inspired me to plant more, grow more, and share more. Now, I invite fellow dahlia enthusiasts to wander through, see how beauty and utility can thrive side by side, and maybe leave with an idea or two for their own patch of paradise. 6815 Serenity Drive, Dexter, Michigan 48130. One mile west of the North Territorial Mast intersection in Dexter. Last house on the right side of Serenity Drive.
Nivea
4303 Center Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, 48108
I am Nivea, and I tend a small backyard garden dedicated mostly to dahlias. It’s still a work in progress, but in a few years, I hope to bring my vision to life. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been captivated by the beauty of dahlia blooms. Like many of you, I began with just a handful—three years ago, in my case—and now my garden is home to more than 800 dahlias. They have a way of pulling us into their enchanting world. My favorites are the formal decorative and ball varieties, though lately I’ve been adding several waterlily types to my collection. I’m excited to connect with all of you and share our mutual love for these stunning flowers.
Looking forward to seeing you in the Gardens!
Sharon Stroh
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