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PRIVATE EDENS
Gardens picked for Manteca tour
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One of the highlights featured in a Del Webb home garden during last years garden tour. - photo by ROSE ALBANO RISSO

Six home gardens will be featured in this year’s annual Manteca Garden Tour. These private Edens range from modern and with state-of-the-art features located in Woodbridge at Del Webb on North Union and the gated community of Primavera in northwest Manteca, to a vintage home with a rustic ambience on East Louise Avenue.

Tickets for this popular event that takes place every year conveniently on the eve of Mother’s Day are now available at several business locations in Manteca and Ripon. The businesses are listed below.

Tickets are still $15 each for the tour which will be on Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is the organization’s only major fund-raising project during the year. All proceeds go to the club’s various community projects including donating time and money to beautify public places in the Family City, awarding scholarships to graduating senior students in various Manteca Unified high schools, and planting trees in public parks in memory of members who have passed on.

There are several highlights of the garden tour this year. The most visible one will be seen in various aspects of the event – that of the art work that will be prominently featured in the tour banners, brochures, flyers, and tickets, among others. That artistic touch will be the award-winning art work by Weston Ranch High School student Vincent Hernandez. He was the winner in the art competition sponsored by the garden club which was held to find the design that would be used for this year’s tour. The winning black-and-white floral design submitted by Hernandez won him $100.

This was the second year the club held a competition for this purpose. Last year, the competition challenge was posed on members of the Manteca Artists Guild. The winning design, a watercolor of a garden scene, was submitted by Jean Ramey, an award-winning artist, of Manteca.

The student art competition drew nearly 20 submissions which were voted on by members of the club during their February meeting. The other entries were submitted by the following students, all Weston Ranch High students: Stephanie Thongbangbay, Blessie Fontanilla, Kimberly Juarez, Emmelene Garcillas, Karla Ramos, Crystal Aguilar, Stephanie Torres, Victor Torres, Sarah Stanley, Diego Rojas, FErnanda Aguila, Lizbeth Ortiz, Wonderful De Longe, James McCoy, Jennah Hillyard, Mariz Dano, and Chautelle Perez.

The winning art work, which will be framed, will be among the door prizes offered at the finale of the garden tour to be held in the last home featured. Tickets for the drawing will be on sale the day of the tour. Refreshments will be held during that time.

Below are the locations currently selling tickets for the garden tour:

• Delicato Vineyards, 12001 S. Hwy 99, Manteca.

• Ed’s Rockery at 6000 E. Lathrop Road, Manteca.

• German Clas Werks (business is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

• Manteca Visitors Center at the Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley on South Union Road, off the Hwy 120 Bypass.

• Rainforest Nursery, 1982 W. Yosemite Avenue just east of Airport Way. This nursery sold the most number of tickets for the garden tour last year.

• Park Greenhouse & Nursery, 12813 E. West Ripon Road in Ripon.

• Silverado Nursery, 460 South Stockton Avenue, Ripon.

• Tipton’s Stationery & Gifts, 169 W. Yosemite Avenue, corner Maple Avenue in downtown Manteca.

• Manteca Senior Center, 295 Cherry Lane.

To learn more about the Manteca Garden Club, or to become a member, visit its website at www.mantecagardenclub.org.