Taking part in the annual September Stroll garden tour fund-raiser sponsored by the Ripon Garden Club is always a win-win situation in more ways than one or two.

You get a chance to feast your eyes on some of the most beautiful gardens around town that you might otherwise not be privy to see up close.

The creativity that went into the design and development of these gardens is quite extraordinary, whether it’s from the brains and brawn of the talented homeowners or with a little professional help, and is such that you’ll find yourself eager to get back to your own private paradise and start applying some of the design ideas you have just seen.

You will also end up feeling good about having taken part in the tour of Ripon’s outstanding gardens because, at the same time that you enjoyed what you paid for, you have contributed to a really worthy cause that will benefit everyone in the community. Like the Manteca Garden Club’s spring garden tour, Ripon Garden Club’s September Stroll uses all of its proceeds for various beautification projects throughout the city as well as for scholarship awards to deserving students.

Tour tickets this year are $18 each for adults and $8 for children age 12 and younger. A reminder and a request: no children’s strollers please.

The garden tour will be held Saturday, Sept. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

If you have not yet secured your ticket to the event, you can stop by the following businesses where tickets are being sold:

RIPON

•Park Greenhouse nursery, 12813 E. West Ripon Road; tel. (209) 599-7545.

•Schemper’s Ace Hardware, 150 N. Wilma Ave.; tel. (209) 599-2141.

•The Barbouri Salon, 204 E. Main St. in downtown Ripon.

MANTECA

•New Buds Nursery, 23563 S. Manteca Road just north of West Ripon Road; tel., (209) 824-7403.

MODESTO

•Scenic Nursery, 1313 Scenic Drive (at Coffee Road); tel., (209) 523-7978

ESCALON

•Creative Water Gardens, 19777 McHenry Avenue just a mile south of Highway 120; tel. (209) 838-8650.

•P & L Garden Supply, 1900 Roosevelt Ave.; tel. (209) 838-1448.

RIVERBANK

•Morris Nursery, 1837 Patterson Road (at Oakdale Road); tel. (209) 527-5553.



For any further questions about tickets and about the Ripon Garden Club, call Anita at (209) 599-3359. Additional questions also may be directed to September Stroll event chairman Mona Restuccia.

The Ripon Garden Club was organized and incorporated in 1960. It is part of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. (Pacific Region), the California Garden Clubs, Inc., the Valley Lode District, and the Ripon Chamber of Commerce.