Colorful annuals and perennials greet visitors to the Bill and Sue Bushman garden in Stevens Point. They are among seven properties featured in Portage County Master Gardeners’ annual Garden Parade July 13. (Contributed)

Portage County Garden Parade set for July 13

June 14, 2024

Metro Wire Staff

A popular summer event in Portage County, the Master Gardeners’ annual Garden Parade, will be held on Saturday, July 13.

The parade, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., offers an inside look at seven private residential properties in the area.

Stevens Point-Plover

Bill and Sue Bushman, 5516 Elmwood Ave., transformed a pine forest into a formal garden in 2002. Featuring perennials and colorful annuals, the design has continued to change over the years. They have added stone walls, pedestals, and stone designs, as well as garden art, lighting, and a pergola.
Lenore and Jim Haferman, 2900 Lanaeh Lane, Plover, began their English-style gardens 40 years ago, with continuous blooms from spring to fall. By herself, Lenore created two backyard ponds separated by a stream, using rocks from Portage and Marathon counties. Jim built a bridge spanning the ponds and two arbors.
John and Jeanne Herder, 5517 Old Highway 18, took advantage of their isolation time during the pandemic to create an “enchanted forest” for their grandchildren. They converted an overgrown lot adjacent to their home to a garden with winding paths. Their landscape includes spirea, lilacs, ninebark, coneflowers, astilbe, heuchera, hosta, ferns, and wild geraniums.

Amherst

Lisa and Denis Cook and Nina and Rex Cass have adjoining properties at 10506 and 10490 Berberg Road. Their gardens have evolved on these 40 acres, purchased in 1976, from a pumpkin patch and herb garden to season-long color. Perennials include numerous daylilies, Orienpet lilies, peonies, dianthus, monarda, clematis, lupine, veronica, foxglove, violas, forget-me-nots, and rudbeckia. Ground covers and hostas fill shady areas. The Cass garden also features roses, hydrangeas, and evergreens. Visitors can enjoy potting sheds, pergolas, and ponds as well as vegetable and raspberry gardens.
Marv and Yvette Shulfer, 5173 Lime Lake Rd., have landscape décor using recycled items and what they find in nature. With a “sliver of woods” and rocky pasture, they created a cozy oasis, building fences, arbors, and gardens now known as Shulfer’s Roots & Wings Landing.
Karen and Richard Stuczynski, 197 Depot St., enjoy adding whimsy and unusual plants to their gardens. As trees grow and come down, they have both sun and shade gardens, featuring many hostas and other flowers. Fountains and fun items hidden among plants add to the joy.

Various demonstrations, vendors, gardening information, a showcase of creative containers and garden art, and musical entertainment will be available at select garden locations. New this year, a food truck will be available at the Shulfer garden.

Portage County Master Gardeners sponsor the garden parade, and members will be available to answer questions at each garden.

Garden Parade tickets are $10 in advance or $12 on parade days at any parade site. They are available at several locations:

In Stevens Point, advance tickets are for sale at Jung’s Garden Center, 5620 Hwy. 10 East; Stevens Point Area Co-op, 633 Second St.; and Master Gardener information table at the Farmers’ Market on the Public Square (Saturdays).

Advance tickets are also at Village Gardens, 2811 Porter Road, and Jay-Mar, 2130 Jay-Mar Road, both in Plover; The Landmark, Amherst; and Angel Gardens, Wisconsin Rapids. They are available at any of the gardens on July 13.

For more information, contact Portage County UW-Extension at 715-346-1316.