suns along the Mohawk

Jason Schultz’s “morning stretch”

 The gardens of the Stockade Association’s 2016 “Art & Nature” Garden Tour sparkled and delighted on Friday (July 15) and yesterday (July 16), enhanced by intriguing and inspiring art. Appreciative visitors came in what looked like record numbers. I want to thank the Garden Tour Committee for letting me serve as a roving photographer. I saw many lovely sites and people I would otherwise have missed this weekend.

I hope the following Slideshows, and the random single photos, will capture some of the joy and beauty. Materials formerly found at “Garden Tour: Day 2, Part 2” and “2016 Garden Tour: a few stops on Day One”, have been consolidated into this posting for the viewers’ convenience.

. share this post with this shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/GardenTour2016 .

SLIDESHOW I

This first slideshow features the three gardens clustered at “Katy Lane”: Mabel Leon’s at 20 Front St., Donna Smith’s at 20 No. Church St, and Franca DiCrescenzo’s (Armida Rose) at 22 No. Church St., as well the garden of Katy Kindl (14 No. Church St.), and that of Werner Feibes (10 No. Ferry St.).

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. . coming soon: light & shadow on Union Street . .

SLIDESHOW II

The gardens of Sean and Dan Philpott-Jones (127 N. College St.) and Diane and Ron DeMeo (232 Union St.) are featured in this second slideshow.

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• the following photos were inadvertently omitted from the above Slideshow’s display of the Philpott-Jones garden on No. College Street, which featured the art of Stockade resident Steve Kowalski:

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peace & whimsy at 142 Front Street

SLIDESHOW III

The Third Slideshow below features images from the gardens of Donna & Chris Thomas (234 Union St.), Jorge Luis Alvarez (224 Union Street), Gloria Kishton and Bob Lemmerman (207 Union St.), and Jessica Johndrew and Charles Gelarden (112 Front Street).

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. . at 1st Reformed Church, by Phyllis Kulmatiski

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. . Steve Carberry’s “earthquake survivor” juxtaposed with a classic Bacchus-Dionysus in the Katy Kindl garden

 . . . [L] Mick Cipollo demonstrated his 3D digital scanning and sculpting in the garden at 234 Union Street. Many other forms of sculpting were on display at Garden Tour locations, such as Fredda Merzon’s botanically-inspired metalwork at the GeLarden garden, Jason Schultz’s work at “Katy Lane,” and Bob Laper’s pieces shown at the top of this posting. I’d like to thank each of the artists who gave time and talents to help make the Garden Tour a success, and my own viewing more enjoyable.

at 234 Union Street, Vintage Chic Inn

SLIDESHOW IV

This 4th and last Slideshow features the garden at 142 Front Street, the home of Laurence James and Tina Caruso. The cliche disclaimer “last but not least” clearly applies.

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. . Tina loves pink (plastic) flamingos, too . . 

. . above: chenille-stem (pipe cleaner) art by Ginger Ertz, at 207 Union Street.

A SAMPLER from DAY ONE of the 2016 STOCKADE GARDEN TOUR

• originally published as “Stockade Garden Tour: a few stops on Day One” (July 16, 2016)

 Friday afternoon, July 15, 2016, was hot and humid, with a gray overcast. Nonetheless, the streets of the Stockade were blooming with even more Garden Tour guests than Pokemon-Go players from 3 PM to 8 PM. Vowing to return Saturday [today], for the forecasted improved weather and sunshine, I visited only five of the dozen Gardens. You can see, however, from the following Slideshow images, that even under mostly overcast skies, the Tour gardens showed their uniqueness and beauty. Here are three or four photos of the five gardens I visited on Day One.

• Want More Stockade Gardens? See our Garden Tour Preview, for a glimpse of the 2016 Stockade Gardens about a month prior to the actual Garden Tour.

200 Block of Union Street looking east

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 The Stockade Association’s 2016 Garden Tour — “Art & Nature” — will take place on Friday and Saturday, July 15 & 16, with Stockade residents opening twelve gardens to the public. For more information, go to the Garden Tour webpage, which lists Ticket Outlets and allows online purchases. Tickets for entrance to all participating gardens, valid both days, are $20 in advance, and $25 on Tour day.

• update (Sunday, July 17, 2016): You can see more than a hundred photos from the actual Garden Tour at “a garden tour for the ages.”

The following slideshow offers a preview of the twelve 2016 Art & Nature Garden Tour locations. The photos were taken between June 15 and June 24, 2016, so expect many refinements, plus the inevitable demands of Mother Nature and whimsical touches of many artistic muses. [To see a larger version of an image in the slideshow, pause on the image, then right-click on it and choose “open image in new tab”.]

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• There is a lot to see. Please remember to have liquids available, and consider a parasol, and perhaps spreading your visit over both days.
• Share this posting with the shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/2016StockadeGardens

• If you appreciate the shade trees remaining in the Stockade, and bemoan the shadeless stretches of sidewalk, please help save our street trees by promoting S.O.S. Trees. It is possible, and can often be less expensive, to improve sidewalks without removing our shade trees. S.O.S. Trees is the web portal for information and links.

Thanks, in advance, to the Tour Committee members, who have been working hard to create and coordinate the event, and to all those who purchase tickets and join the Tour. Extra special thanks to the Hosts for opening their gardens, and for all their planning, planting, and tending.

Here’s a list of the participating hosts and gardens:

1. Gloria Kishton/Bob Lemmerman: 207 Union  

2. Jorgé Alvarez:  224 Union Street   

3. Diane DeMeo:  232 Union Street   

4. Donna Thomas:  234 Union Street  

5. Sean and Dan Philpott-Jones  127 College Street

6. Lawrence James/Tina Caruso: 142 Front St. 

7. Charles Gelarden/Jessica Johndrew: 112 Front Street  

8. Werner Feibes:  17 N. Ferry   

9. Mabel Leon: 22 Front St.   372-1531 

10. Franca DiCrescenzo  22 N. Church St. 

11. Donna Smith – 20 N.Church St. 

12. Rosemary Harrigan: 14 N. Church St. (Katy Kindl House)  

. . a view of garden #11, 20 No. Church Street (click on it to enlarge) . .

• The Summer 2016 edition of Saratoga Living Magazine has an article on this year’s Stockade and Saratoga Springs garden tours.

p.s. They’re gracious in gray-tones, too:

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