Blog

The St. Louis Water Gardening Society will present its 14th annual water garden and pond tour, Pond-O-Rama, Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The 2014 tour has 43 private gardens owned and maintained by Society members and 4 commercial sites. Tickets covering both days of the tour are $15 each and are available now at retail shops and garden centers throughout the metropolitan area. Everyone on the tour age 18 or above requires a separate ticket. Children under the age of 18 do not need a ticket.

The gardens are located throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area, including Illinois. The tour is arranged each day by geographic location. This year many of the water features are “over the top”. Half of the gardens are new on Pond-O-Rama and their owners are excited to share their new ponds and waterfalls.

The water features range from spectacular high, thundering waterfalls to quiet streams. There are “pond-less waterfalls” that simply disappear at the termination of the falls, and a number of new rain-recovery systems that make the storage and use of rainfall practical. Many of our members have new water gardens to share, and many have enhanced their current ponds and gardens into outdoor rooms and quaint woodland spaces.  This year you will see some very unique and creative designs in waterfalls and ponds, gorgeous koi fish, and fantastic gardens.

This event, each year, is the only time St. Louis Water Gardening Society members—as a group—open their gardens to the public. In addition to their water features, most of the hosts also are avid gardeners who maintain beautiful landscapes filled with perennials, annuals and shrubs. Hosts will be available and delighted to share information and answer questions about their gardens, their water features, their fish, and their beautiful plants. If you are thinking of adding water to your own garden—or you simply enjoy beautiful landscapes and a weekend filled with beauty—this is the tour for you!

This event provides funds for the St Louis Water Gardening Society to continue their civic project to plant and maintain the reflecting pools at the Jewel Box in Forest Park, and for other activities.

The tour ticket booklet gives location addresses, descriptions and driving directions. For more information, call (314) 995-2988. Tickets are available by mail order from the Society’s website, www.slwgs.org, or at the several retail locations. The two North County locations are A. Waldbart & Sons Nursery, 5517 N. Highway 67, and Wild Birds Unlimited, 2644 North Highway 67.