FAST FACTS
• WHAT: Manteca Garden Club garden tour
• WHEN: Saturday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• COST: $15
• TICKETS: New Buds Nursery, 23563 South Manteca Road824-7403; German Glas Werks, 109 East Yosemite Ave., (corner Main Street) 825-4527; Park Greenhouse, 12813 West Ripon Road, Ripon, 599-7545; Manteca Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1422 Grove Avenue, at the Promenade Shops, 823-7229 (near Kerasotes Theater).
• MORE INFO: Call 825-6700
The Egelston garden at Woodbridge Del Webb in Manteca is impossible to miss.
The home’s orientation, its corner lot location, and the fact it’s the largest lot (a half-an-acre spread) in all of Del Webb’s gated community all conspire to draw the attention of passersby. But its strong curb appeal delivers the main visual punch, thanks to a front-yard landscaping that is not only visually pleasing but is quite expansive that you’ll need a wide-angle lens to capture it all.
That’s just the appetizer though. The main entrée, if you will, in the Egelstons’ garden – one of five featured in the 2010 Manteca Garden Tour sponsored by the Manteca Garden Club – is in the spacious back yard
Among the highlights found in this hidden private Eden: two rose gardens, a vegetable garden which includes three large raised planters, a large pergola that stretches nearly across the entire length of the house, and a cozy corner with a fire pit which evokes pleasant gatherings under the stars while surrounded by sights and smells of flowers and ripening fruits.
But that’s not all. The star of this garden show is the unique water feature next to the pergola. Recently retired podiatrist, Dr. William Egelston, designed the central garden attraction as a replica of the Merced River in the Sierra with the rippling clear waters meandering down and skipping over rocks and boulders to a pebbled ground level where they surreptitiously escape into an underwater reservoir. From there, the water begins another recirculation journey to the top of the waterfall. Transforming the doctor’s brainchild into reality was Keith Brathovd of Silver Tree Landscaping. The front-yard landscaping was also his handiwork.
Dr. Egelston admits readily that his wife is the one with the green thumb. His better half agrees. While the front-yard landscaping and gardens are professionally maintained, the backyard and the entire vegetable garden are her territory alone, she says with pride. Some of the leafy vegetables, many of them planted in raised planters surrounded by stamped concrete walkways that match other areas in the back yard, are already ripe for picking. They have actually enjoyed some of their back-yard fresh produce on their dining table already. One proof of Lynn Egelston’s green thumb is an enormous artichoke that has just started bearing fruit after several months of waiting. Even though she continues to work as a physical therapist at Dameron Hospital in Stockton, she still finds time to putter in the garden. About two months ago, she joined the Manteca Garden Club to learn more about gardening.
The Egelstons’ garden is one of two at Del Webb which are featured in this year’s garden tour.
The garden tour will be held on May 8, the Saturday before Mother’s Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be opportunities as well to win prizes from a drawing that will be held during the tour. Raffle tickets will be on sale during the tour which is the club’s only fund-raiser during the year.
Tickets for the garden tour are $15 each and are now available for purchase at the following locations:
•New Buds Nursery, 23563 South Manteca Road, Manteca, (209) 824-7403
•German Glas Werks, 109 East Yosemite Ave., (corner Main Street) Manteca, (209) 825-4527
•Park Greenhouse, 12813 West Ripon Road, Ripon, (209) 599-7545
•Manteca Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1422 Grove Avenue, at the Promenade Shops, (209) 823-7229 (near Kerasotes Theater).
Organized in 1953 and incorporated in 1962 as part of the national garden clubs, the Manteca Garden Club has been instrumental in several of the city’s beautification projects. The memorial rose garden in front of the Manteca Senior Center at Cherry Lane was established by the club and is regularly maintained by members who do all the pruning and cleaning on a regular basis.
For those interested in knowing more about the club and are interested in joining, the group meets every third Monday of the month starting at noon in the John McFall Conference Room at the Library Park, 320 Center Street in downtown Manteca. Meetings are open to anyone interested in becoming a member of the club.
For further details about the upcoming garden tour, the club or the regular meetings, call club president Sandi Larson at (209) 825-6700.
The home’s orientation, its corner lot location, and the fact it’s the largest lot (a half-an-acre spread) in all of Del Webb’s gated community all conspire to draw the attention of passersby. But its strong curb appeal delivers the main visual punch, thanks to a front-yard landscaping that is not only visually pleasing but is quite expansive that you’ll need a wide-angle lens to capture it all.
That’s just the appetizer though. The main entrée, if you will, in the Egelstons’ garden – one of five featured in the 2010 Manteca Garden Tour sponsored by the Manteca Garden Club – is in the spacious back yard
Among the highlights found in this hidden private Eden: two rose gardens, a vegetable garden which includes three large raised planters, a large pergola that stretches nearly across the entire length of the house, and a cozy corner with a fire pit which evokes pleasant gatherings under the stars while surrounded by sights and smells of flowers and ripening fruits.
But that’s not all. The star of this garden show is the unique water feature next to the pergola. Recently retired podiatrist, Dr. William Egelston, designed the central garden attraction as a replica of the Merced River in the Sierra with the rippling clear waters meandering down and skipping over rocks and boulders to a pebbled ground level where they surreptitiously escape into an underwater reservoir. From there, the water begins another recirculation journey to the top of the waterfall. Transforming the doctor’s brainchild into reality was Keith Brathovd of Silver Tree Landscaping. The front-yard landscaping was also his handiwork.
Dr. Egelston admits readily that his wife is the one with the green thumb. His better half agrees. While the front-yard landscaping and gardens are professionally maintained, the backyard and the entire vegetable garden are her territory alone, she says with pride. Some of the leafy vegetables, many of them planted in raised planters surrounded by stamped concrete walkways that match other areas in the back yard, are already ripe for picking. They have actually enjoyed some of their back-yard fresh produce on their dining table already. One proof of Lynn Egelston’s green thumb is an enormous artichoke that has just started bearing fruit after several months of waiting. Even though she continues to work as a physical therapist at Dameron Hospital in Stockton, she still finds time to putter in the garden. About two months ago, she joined the Manteca Garden Club to learn more about gardening.
The Egelstons’ garden is one of two at Del Webb which are featured in this year’s garden tour.
The garden tour will be held on May 8, the Saturday before Mother’s Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be opportunities as well to win prizes from a drawing that will be held during the tour. Raffle tickets will be on sale during the tour which is the club’s only fund-raiser during the year.
Tickets for the garden tour are $15 each and are now available for purchase at the following locations:
•New Buds Nursery, 23563 South Manteca Road, Manteca, (209) 824-7403
•German Glas Werks, 109 East Yosemite Ave., (corner Main Street) Manteca, (209) 825-4527
•Park Greenhouse, 12813 West Ripon Road, Ripon, (209) 599-7545
•Manteca Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1422 Grove Avenue, at the Promenade Shops, (209) 823-7229 (near Kerasotes Theater).
Organized in 1953 and incorporated in 1962 as part of the national garden clubs, the Manteca Garden Club has been instrumental in several of the city’s beautification projects. The memorial rose garden in front of the Manteca Senior Center at Cherry Lane was established by the club and is regularly maintained by members who do all the pruning and cleaning on a regular basis.
For those interested in knowing more about the club and are interested in joining, the group meets every third Monday of the month starting at noon in the John McFall Conference Room at the Library Park, 320 Center Street in downtown Manteca. Meetings are open to anyone interested in becoming a member of the club.
For further details about the upcoming garden tour, the club or the regular meetings, call club president Sandi Larson at (209) 825-6700.
