The biannual garden tour sponsored by the Medford Lakes Garden Club gave the public a behind-the-scenes look at some of the gardens in the community last month, including that of resident Kathy Bloodworth.
Bloodworth and husband Noah’s home was built in 1932, one of the first log cabins on Medford Lakes’ Pocahontas Trail. They are the second owners of the property and celebrated their wedding vows in a yard surrounded by nature. They do all their own gardening and landscaping.
The Bloodworths work tirelessly to maintain their garden’s qualifications as a Certified Wildlife Habitat and Monarch Waystation. The latter are places that provide resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their fall migration. Without milkweeds throughout their spring and summer breeding areas in North America, monarchs cannot accomplish that, according to monarchwatch.org.
And without nectar from flowers, the fall migratory monarchs would be unable to make their long journey to overwintering grounds in Mexico.
“We have four children that grew up here, so I’ve tried to make an environment that was safe for them,” Kathy Bloodworth said. “I had yards that were playpens and the playpens turned into gardens as they grew up, so we’ve lived here 40 years.”
The garden tour is among events that enable the garden club to promote education and appreciation of gardening in the community. Its proceeds also enable the club to offer two scholarships to area high- school graduates who will pursue a degree in the field of horticulture or environmental sciences.
Bloodworth has participated in the garden tour three other times, so the event was nothing new for her.
“I have a yard that’s different than everybody else’s,” she explained. “My yard is larger than most people’s yards. A lot of (them) were on the lake and they’re beautiful, but they only had small areas that were planted. People stayed here for about an hour when they came in to visit, and some of them came back after seeing the other yards to spend time.
“Some of the ladies sat in different areas and visited with their friends that they were with that day, so they enjoyed themselves quite a bit.”
Dozens of plants cover the woodland part of Bloodworth’s property, including Dogwood, Crepe Myrtle, Mayapple and Lilies of the Valley, while hundreds of perennials cover the garden area by the house. The side yard contains a vast vegetable and fruit grow house to provide an early start for seedlings during frosty winters.
“It’s an English garden, it’s a pollinator garden, it’s a perennial garden with annual accents,” Bloodworth noted of her space. “There are rooms in my yard like there are rooms in God’s house.
“I pray a lot in the yard, saying thank you for all our blessings.”
