Celebrate spring by going on garden tour

What better way to celebrate the beauty of spring than with a garden tour? The Cape Girardeau Council of Garden Clubs is sponsoring such an event, as six private residential gardens will be available for public display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, June 13.

Not only is this an opportunity to enjoy our community's beautiful landscape, the garden tour also serves as a valuable fundraiser to ensure that such beauty is maintained and enhanced. For $10, tourists will receive a map of participating sites and directions to each, and will share in the joy of assisting the Garden Club Council's projects, including the Capaha Rose Garden and the public flower shows held annually.

Tickets are available at Sunny Hill Garden Center and Plants Plus and from members of Four Seasons, Ramblewood and Rose Hills Garden clubs. Tickets will be available the day of the tour from the homes participating in the tour. We extend a "thank you" to C.W. and Saundra Suedekum Jr., at 537 Alta Vista Drive; Sven and Bonnie Svenson at 1410 Stoddard; Byron and Anne Foust at 2033 Woodland Hills Drive; Rickey and Margaret Lents at 3030 Kenneth Drive; Ted and Donna Spender at 4395 Hopper Road; and Chateau Girardeau Wildflower Trail at 3120 Independence Street. Their welcome of the public makes this event possible.

Before we know it, we will return to complaining about cold and snow. But this weekend, join in for a good cause and a breathtaking tour. Some people plan future vacations based on ambience -- colors, flowers and warmth. We are blessed to have all that right here, right now, in our own community.