TOUR FEATURES LOCAL GARDENS AND KITCHENS

Irises, azaleas and poppies, perennial spring favorites, highlight gardens on this year's Garden and Kitchen Tour from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Six homes are featured on the tour to benefit Cape Christian School.

Tickets for the self-guided tour are $10 in advance and $12 the day of the tour.

Master gardeners from the University of Missouri Extension Service will be available at each garden to answer horticulture questions.

Six gardens and four kitchens will be on display.

Homes on the tour:

-- Leon and Lola Cherry, 313 S. West End Blvd., will open their garden for the tour. They have lived in this older home just five years, but have turned the yard into a gardener's paradise.

-- O.D. and Marie Niswonger, 822 Rodney Vista Blvd., will show off his iris collection and the rest of his garden. Niswonger is known as "Mr. Iris," an internationally known breeder of irises. But his yard is filled with many other plantings, including a fern garden.

-- Tim Westrich and Judy Barks-Westrich, 1533 Kurre Lane, has cultivated a natural-looking garden under mature trees. The sandbox has become a focal point for a garden bed. A child's old wagon holds potted pansies.

-- Margaret and Rickey Lents, 3030 Kenneth St., offer a variety of Southern-styled gardens including an azalea garden.

-- Sue and Rod Crist, 3027 Keystone Dr., and Shelly and Don Beasley, 3036 Keystone Dr., live across the street from each other. Both families have been filling their homes with colorful and tailored plantings.

Tickets may be purchased at the school or at Into the Garden, Foeste Nursery, Lix's Quality Nursery, Plants Plus, Schnucks, Sunny Hill Gardens and Florist, The Plant Lady or Touch of Grace.

Cape Christian School, situated at 1855 Perryville Road, is a non-denominational Christian school established in 1975. Currently, 141 students attend half-day kindergarten through sixth grade.